Accordion Icons: Which Work Best?
AI Summary
This article explores research findings on usability for various accordion expansion icons, including carets, chevrons, arrows, and plus/minus signs. It highlights that the caret pointing down is the safest and most reliable choice for indicating collapsible content. Additionally, the text advises against using split buttons where text and icons lead to different actions, recommending instead that links should simply be underlined.
Key Takeaways
- The caret/triangle pointing down is the safest and most reliable default icon choice for accordions.
- Split menus where the text links to a page and the icon opens the menu are harmful and cause user errors.
- Simple underlined text is the best way to indicate a direct link without relying on confusing arrows.
Why it matters
Choosing the right UI icons for navigation and accordions directly impacts user experience, reduces cognitive load, and prevents interaction mistakes on websites and web applications.
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