Websites & patient experience · Practice guide

Make your website menu comfortable to use on a phone

Illustrative situation

A menu can look elegant in a design presentation while being frustrating on a small screen. Long service names, tiny controls and difficult-to-close panels can all interrupt a booking enquiry. Ask the supplier to demonstrate opening, choosing and closing the menu on a real phone. Also ask how someone uses it without a mouse; you do not need to know the technical method to request a clear demonstration.

Read the guide Make your action list
Healthcare website and appointment calendar displayed on devices at an empty clinic reception.
Make the website useful for the people who use your practice.

What this means for your practice

Ask the supplier to demonstrate important navigation tasks across relevant input methods and screen sizes. A visually tidy menu is not enough if people cannot operate it.

An example to discuss with your team

Ask the supplier to open and close submenus without a mouse, showing that the current keyboard-selected item stays visible and the next action is clear.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts.
Make the service and next step clear on every screen.
Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form.
Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.

A practical example

For example, a visitor should be able to open the services menu, choose an appointment page and return to the main menu without losing their place. Try a long location name as well as a short one. If the text is enlarged, the choices should still be understandable. Judge the menu by completed tasks, not by how neatly a static screenshot fits into a proposal.

Ask the supplier to demonstrate what happens when a menu is open and the screen is rotated or text is enlarged. The exact technical fix is their responsibility. Your review should confirm that the choices remain visible, understandable and possible to close without losing the task.

Make this improvement work

Ask for a working menu with the longest actual service and location names, not a prototype filled with short placeholders. Try opening a subsection, returning to the previous level and closing the menu without selecting anything. Include enlarged text and an appropriate keyboard demonstration so the team can see whether the current choice remains understandable. The supplier should resolve the implementation; your acceptance task is whether someone can reach the intended page without losing their place. Record specific failures such as a hidden close control or an unreadable wrapped label instead of asking vaguely for a more user-friendly menu.

How to check the result

Record navigation tasks that cannot be completed independently.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discuss

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

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Further reading

These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.

Related guides

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