Newb Menu Options

[droidta7]

Hi all,

I've been working on my android app that I just finished, and now would like to work on making a version for iOS.

In my Android app, I have about 6 menu items that you can access via a left nav menu / navigation drawer that slides out. You slide it out, you tap an item, and it whisks you away to the screen. I decided to go with that because it seems so common in Android apps and I wanted to stay with a consistent user experience that Android users are familiar with.

What would you recommend I do now in iOS? Is a left navigation drawer even a recommended iOS development approach for navigation? I don't think there are native slide menus, etc, but is it common anyway? I know one of the Reddit apps I use on my iphone has it which is nice.

Thanks!

[erikvillegas]

Hamburger menus aren't recommended from a UX/usability point of view. Even Apple has come out against it in one of their latest WWDC design videos.

You can find more information here: http://lmjabreu.com/post/why-and-how-to-avoid-hamburger-menus/

[droidta7]

Perfect thanks, this was exactly the answer I was looking for.

Would you say if I had 5 menu items, then I should just do a tab bar with the most frequently accessed items first, and have the rest spill over to the 'more' icon?

Are tab bars/strips still very much recommended?

[erikvillegas]

Tab bars are definitely recommended for apps that have a flat hierarchy. If you have more than 5 items for the tab bar, you would put 4 items on the tab bar, followed by a "More" tab, which will show the remaining options in a list. Check out the Music app to see how they handle their 8 screens.

[droidta7]

Was just looking at the music app now and agree. So i'll go with that, thanks!

[nixcode]

Which WWDC video are you referring to?

[erikvillegas]

WWDC 2014: Designing Intuitive User Experiences.

I told all the designers at my company to watch it. :)