University Marketing and Communications

Mobile Menus

Mobile-first navigation

Mobile first menu exampleWhile we have moved to a mobile-first navigation, behind the scenes in OmniUpdate, the original menu names are still the same to make the transition a bit easier.

“topMenu.xml.inc” file will now be your main menu. When viewing the menu, these links will appear, without having to click to expand it. 

“UTmainMenu.xml.inc,” “UTadditionalMenu.xml.inc” and "UTthirdmenu.xml.inc" will be collapsed menus that users will need to expand to see their contents.

Additionally, the "UTdeptmentinfo.tcf" file will display at the bottom of your menu. 

Best practice for the new mobile-first navigation

Most mobile phones screens are only 720 pixels wide in portrait mode, so it is recommended to maximize the experience for the small screen.

  1. Make sure you are using “topMenu.xml.inc” for the most important, top-level links.
  2. Rethink your website in terms of intuitive “buckets” of content or audience type.
    • Good navigation means good site architecture
    • Also important for search engine optimization
  3. Limit your top menu navigation to four to eight items.
  4. Additionally, limit the main and additional menus to four to eight items when they are viewed.
    • It is likely you don’t need additional menus any longer
  5. List most important links first.
    • Move link to main college or department to end of list
  6. Be descriptive. “Welcome” or “More Info” doesn’t tell the visitor much.
    • Look at search engine optimized words if possible
  7. The “UTdepartmentinfo.xml.inc” file will now display at the bottom of the menu
    • Great place to make sure all primary contact info is available
    • Social media is part of UTdepartmentinfo.xml.inc file so put your social media info here and it will display.  
  8. Maximize the use of the "UTdepartmentinfo.tcf" file by making sure all content info is provided. You can even add your social media in on the file and it will display social media relevant to your page. 
Last Updated: 11/22/22