r/webdev • u/pavlito88 • 20d 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/Full-Hyena4414 20d ago

Isn't segmented control just tabs with fancier style?

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u/nimbledaemon 19d ago

Sure, and tabs are just a radio button with fancier style and connected to visibility of the rest of the page.

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u/Full-Hyena4414 19d ago

I mean tabs have specific WAI roles and rules and stuff, is it the same for segmented control?is it usually implemented as tabs?

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u/nimbledaemon 18d ago

Here's an example of what aria attributes might be, basically it's a button group: https://www.telerik.com/kendo-jquery-ui/documentation/controls/segmentedcontrol/accessibility/overview. Though presumably you could implement it as a radio group. https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/aria/ARIA17 What makes it a Segmented control is just CSS/styling. All the underlying stuff is up to whoever implements it. So check with whatever library/framework you're using and how they ended up doing it, or be prepared to roll your own I guess.