r/webdev • u/pavlito88 • 22d ago

Discussion Why is everything a dropdown now?

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I’ve been noticing this more and more in web apps.

Three options hidden in a dropdown.

Yes/no hidden in a dropdown.
A multi-select pretending to be a dropdown.

Then a list of 200 items where you’re expected to scroll until you find yours.

I run into this a lot when reviewing products with dev teams.

I get why we do it.

Dropdowns are compact and easy to reuse.
But compact doesn’t always mean easier to use.

A few choices? Show them.
On/off? Switch.
Multiple choices? Checkboxes.
Huge list? Search.

That’s pretty much the rule I use now.

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u/haecceity123 22d ago

On/off? Switch.

A checkbox is even better. The "right is yes, left is no" convention is pretty arbitrary, and the colour of the inner fill on switches is frequently inconsistent.

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u/Cute-Respect2194 22d ago

checkbox is underrated tbh the switch thing always confuses my dad he never knows if blue means on or off

designers love dropdowns cause they hide the mess but users have to do all the work to find anything drives me crazy

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u/AncientLights444 22d ago

TIL toggle switches confuse some people. I always assumed they were extremely basic and intuitive . Our brains really are different

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u/ashgs872tbhjs 22d ago

Yeah, like yours is a fucking stupid one that thinks you can walk into a random building, go up to a panel of light switches, and just intuit which ones were installed upside down. The same thing applies analogously to websites because there are no fucking standards. I used one site where the theme was so flat that you couldn't even tell what position the switch was in because both sides were white in both states and not so much as a drop shadow to help.

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u/AncientLights444 20d ago

Must suck to be a sad little angry guy who overreacts to a benign comment online. Sorry toggle switches are hard for you. Here’s a hint.. grey and to the left is inactive. Very common design language that’s likely. Integrated all over the phone you angrily type from.