How to Simplify a Very Long, Complex Menu

3 UX techniques to reduce menu complexity

Have you ever wondered why some menus are easier to use than others? The more items there are in a menu, the more complex it becomes. This complexity adds a higher cognitive load to finding and performing actions. In other words, users will spend more time on tasks with less satisfaction.

The fewer menu items you have, the easier it is to navigate. Therefore, the first step to simplifying a menu is to remove redundant items or consolidate them with others. This approach is the quickest way to improve your menus because it doesn't require any design. All you need to do is rethink and reorganize your data classification.

However, reducing the number of menu items isn't a strategy that always works because the amount of data you have may require many items. In this case, you need to employ the following UX techniques to reduce menu complexity.