Why You Shouldn't Use Dropdown Menus for Data Sorting

Design a faster sort

Sorting is critical for viewing data better. It allows users to order information by specific criteria to find what they want faster. However, most interfaces provide a slower user experience when sorting is done with a dropdown menu.

A dropdown menu makes the sorting options hard to see. As a result, users are less inclined to use the sort when there isn't a visible incentive. The different sort labels incentivize users to click because they signify that there's more than one way to view the data. Unfortunately, most users are stuck in the default view because they're oblivious to the other options.