Sidebar modal - pros & cons?

Question

Do slide-out modals work well in your experience?

Our requirements are to present deeper, specific content to users without taking them out of a flow, so linking to another page is not being considered as an option.

Instead we want to implement a slide-out drawer type modal in which to present the information.

The pattern is similar to the one found on AirBnb's site, when you click on the "help" button, top right:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/

I'm looking for research into this UI pattern, pros & cons, especially when it comes to accessibility and use on smaller screens.

Answer 1

Yes, in some cases they work. But as always it really depends on the content, context and navigation flow.

It is hard for me to give concrete examples and hep, as I don't know more about your service, if it is mobile-only or a cross platform etc.

As in most cases, I would suggest creating different versions and test with a few people.

Think aloud test is a great one for this type and I belive you would benefit from it.

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/thinking-aloud-the-1-usability-tool/