Do expandable website sections help your customers?

Expandable sections can make a long service page look tidy. But can a customer find the answer they need without guessing which heading to open? Before you add an accordion to your small-business website, check whether it makes the page easier to use.

An accordion is a set of headings that open and close sections of content. You may have seen one on a delivery information page or a list of service details. The useful question is not how much space it saves, but whether customers can find and use the information.

Keep essential information visible

Start by listing what someone must know before they contact you or make a booking. For a fictional repair business, this might include the types of equipment accepted, the area covered and how to request an appointment. Put those basics where visitors can read them without opening extra panels.

The GOV.UK Design System’s accordion guidance advises against hiding information that everyone needs to see. It also recommends trying well-structured content without an accordion first. Although the guidance is written for government services, it offers a useful starting point for reviewing a business page.

Write a short introduction, add clear headings and remove repeated sentences. If that produces a readable page, you may already have the simpler solution. Our guide to clear headings and useful links gives you a practical way to make that edit.

Use headings that tell customers what is inside

If different visitors need different supporting details, expandable sections may be worth testing. For example, a repair page might have separate sections for dropping off an item and arranging collection. The headings should explain the choice before a visitor opens either one.

• Prefer “What to bring to your appointment” to “More information”.
• Keep each section about one recognisable subject.
• Avoid repeating the same vague heading across several panels.
• Put the answer near the start of the opened section.

Read just the closed headings to someone who has not edited the page. Ask where they would look for one specific answer. If they cannot choose, revise the labels before changing colours or icons.

Check what happens when a panel opens

Open the page on a phone and try it at your normal reading size. Tap each heading. Check that the revealed text fits the screen and that the open section is easy to identify. A plus or minus symbol can support the heading, but should not be the only clue to its purpose.

Try a realistic comparison task. If someone needs both collection and drop-off details, can they keep both sections open? A design that closes one whenever another opens may make that task awkward. Choose the behaviour around what customers need to do.

Keep important links easy to find inside each section. Avoid placing another accordion inside an open panel: a visitor should not have to work through several layers to reach a short answer.

Test the keyboard controls

Put the mouse aside and use Tab to reach the section controls. The focused control should be visible. Try Enter and Space to open a section, then continue with Tab to any links inside it. Use Shift and Tab together to move backwards.

The W3C accordion pattern describes these keyboard interactions. It also explains how a control communicates whether its panel is open or closed. Ask your developer to check that the heading controls and their expanded state are identified correctly for assistive technology. A panel that looks right can still need work underneath.

This is a focused check of one feature, not a full accessibility assessment. Record the exact page, control and action if something fails, so the person making the repair can reproduce it.

Run a small customer task test

Choose one question a real customer has asked recently. For example: “What should I bring when I drop off my item?” Give a colleague the page address and that question, without telling them which section to open.

1. Watch where they look first and which heading they choose.
2. Note whether they find a complete answer or need another page.
3. Ask which label or detail caused confusion.
4. Compare the same content with all sections visible.
5. Keep the version that makes the task clearer, then repeat the check on a phone.

A short test with a colleague can expose obvious problems; it does not prove that the design works for every customer. Use it to decide what to improve and what needs a wider check.

Choose clarity before a shorter-looking page

Review one busy service page this week. Keep its essential details visible, make every expandable heading specific and check the controls with both a phone and a keyboard. If the accordion adds effort without helping visitors choose, use ordinary headings instead.

Need help reviewing a page with expandable sections? Contact Hobbit Web Design with the page address and the question you want customers to answer.