Hiding the Subnavigation
The subnavigation can be hidden on all hero types. Take care when hiding the subnavigation. Subnavigation helps orient users on where they can go next, what content is related, and where they can go back to. Breadcrumbs sometimes are not enough to give the full picture.
When hiding the subnavigation might work:
- The page is a unique, specific landing page. These are often one-off pages. They may be more promotional in nature, or used temporarily
- The page is a “one stop shop” with no child pages — i.e., it links users out to various other places on your site. This is common on pages directed toward a particular audience, such as “Alumni” or “Media.”
When to re-consider:
- It is at the L3 level or below. You typically do not want to hide the subnavigation several levels down in the site architecture. When your users go down the rabbit hole, they need a way to orient themselves back up.
- Surrounding pages do have subnavigation. If sibling pages and child pages have subnavigation, it’s best to be consistent.
- You want it to look “clean.” Maybe the page has no siblings and it looks kind of weird. Even so, it’s better to give your users context than remove it to make it look nicer.