When it comes to responsive navigation patterns, I often find myself using the "slide down pattern":
Now there are at least two ways to build something like that:
- With slide animation like in the animated gif (or example page)
- Without animation, so the menu simply pops open – not really slide down (example page)
From a web developer point of view, I really like to do it without animation because it's much easier to do, only a CSS class has to be toggled with JavaScript.
Given the fact that it's currently not possible to use CSS transitions to transition to height: auto
for the menu, it's also really resource friendly (JavaScript animations can be expensive on CPU).
Still, from a UX point of view, I am afraid that it might be better to use an animation to open the window, so the use actually has a change to follow along with what is happening on the page.
In addition, I often find that menus without animation feel more direct, more "snappier", although I think that it's maybe just a matter of timing the animation.
Are opening animations really necessary because they provide the user with more information, or can I confidently pass on them?