Foundation Sidebars - Yes or No?

[Cory]

Do you think sidebars are a good way to relay information to users of your board?

I think it's nice to have information in the header and footer, but sometimes those areas can be cluttered and hard to sift through the links you wish to access. A sidebar can help de-clutter those areas and make it more accessible, especially if you use a fixed sidebar that scrolls with the board. Of course, some administrators overdo the information sidebars contain and become cluttered, so keeping the sidebar information to a mid-tier minimum can be elegant.

 

[Nomad]

I do not have sidebars on my forums but I like one sidebars. Sidebars get better visibility than the footer, therefore, I think you should be keeping important information on the sidebar. The header section does not leave a lot of room for adding information, even if you do it will look cluttered, therefore, sidebars serve the purpose of providing important information. In my opinion, if you add sections like latest posts or trending posts on the sidebar, it can be a good way to encourage your users to jump straight into the content for engagement.

 

[Bryn]

No, no sidebars for me...

 

[Cloaked]

Slowly removing them. I do have a style for users that prefer sidebars.

 

[Cory]

Slowly removing them.

Is there a reason you're starting to do away with them?

 

[Al]

It's funny, and not in a har-har sort of way, but I almost never interact with a sidebar. On one forum I removed it entirely for that exact reason. Never clicked on anything, assumed no-one else did either.

And afterwards it just felt empty. Strangely empty.

So my conclusion is, even if I don't click to access content via the sidebar I still look at it. Perhaps to give me a quick overview of what's going on at that time. So I say 'yes' to sidebars but not for navigational reasons.

 

[Cory]

One thing I do is have an expand/collapse option for the sidebar, and voila! Users who don't like the sidebar can collapse it.

 

[Cloaked]

Is there a reason you're starting to do away with them?

It tends to clutter the index. Like @Al I never interact with it. I have the option to collapse it for users that don't need it.

 

[Cedric]

I honestly can’t remember exactly when sidebars first became a thing, but I do remember seeing them pop up now and then on old InvisionFree forums. It felt so unusual at the time, yet here we are—now, sidebars are everywhere, and I’m so used to them that it feels odd when a forum doesn’t have one.

Of course, they’re not perfect; sometimes sidebars end up cluttered or don’t show us the information we actually need. That’s why I appreciate that here on Administrata, we give members the option to toggle them on or off. Having those little customization options really makes a difference.

I've always enjoyed having flexibility as a forum member, and I keep hoping we’ll see even more of that in the future. Imagine being able to drag and drop forums, rearrange widgets, or tweak layouts to make it feel like your own space. I know that’s probably not something most people need—maybe only 5% of users would care to go that deep—but I think it would be a lot of fun for those who want it. Just another way to make the experience feel more personal!

 

[Al]

I’ve seen one forum where the sidebar goes on way beyond the forum index. It looks ridiculous and is really bad design. No one ever scrolls all that way so it’s just loading more information than is necessary and slowing down loading times as a result.

Also, use the bloody order system to put the important stuff at the top not at the bottom.