On DallasNews.com, an update needed to be made to our navigation, however, there was not an ideal location on the mobile version of the site to place this. Instead, we reimagined what a new Section Menu could look like, while also solving some previous negative user experiences that had been reported.
Problem 1: we needed somewhere on the mobile site to display the Weather widget, however, there was no space left in the main navigation (this is where the Weather widget was located on the desktop site). This needed to be accessible on
Problem 2: on the desktop site, the Section Menu opened to a full page overlay. Many users did not realize that the Section Menu scrolled further down to show more sections on the site.
Challenge: How might we make the section menu simpler, more accessible, and more natural for users on mobile devices?
Research
Reviewed UX studies on mobile device handholds and thumb zones from UX Matters, A List Apart, and others.
Testing
Compared left- and right-aligned toggles in a prototype to measure comfort and discoverability.
Analysis
Mapped common hand positions and touch zones for portrait-oriented devices, focusing on right-handed use since 90% of users are right-handed.
Iteration
Assessed tradeoffs between cognitive scanning patterns (left-to-right reading flow) and physical accessibility.
-> 75% of users primarily use their right thumb to navigate
-> The right third of the screen is the most consistently reachable area across handholds
-> The bottom left zone is most often touched—but using it for primary navigation breaks natural reading order
We introduced the toggle icons ('+') on the right side of the section menu and redesigned the hierarchy for clarity. This small but strategic change created a noticeable improvement in one-handed usability on mobile, without disrupting content flow on desktop.
-> Reduced friction for users navigating sections with one hand
-> Improved accessibility and comfort, especially on larger devices
-> Created a foundation for data-driven iteration with analytics events to measure toggle engagement over time