Once upon a time, the sidebar was king. It wore a crown made of navigation links, tag clouds, RSS icons, and if it was feeling especially fancy, a Flash-powered visitor counter.
It was the digital attic of the web—stuffed with everything we thought users might want but didn’t have the heart to throw away.
But in 2025, as design shifts toward ruthless minimalism and mobile-first brutality, we need to ask an uncomfortable question:
Is it time to kill the sidebar—for good?
The Sidebar’s Long, Slow Death March
Sidebars are like appendix organs: maybe they served a purpose once, but most modern websites are just hoping they don’t burst.
Let’s be honest—when was the last time you intentionally used a sidebar? Not glanced at. Not ignored while scrolling. Actually used? For many users, the answer is: never. Most sideline content (pun intended) has become noise. Ads, “related posts,” newsletter pop-ups, social embeds… it’s the bargain bin of UX.
And that’s not just opinion—it’s backed by data. Eye-tracking studies show users focus overwhelmingly on main content areas. In fact, 79% of users never even glance at the right-hand rail on desktop. On mobile? The sidebar is either buried under a hamburger menu graveyard, or simply doesn’t load at all.
So why are we still clinging to it?
Legacy Thinking and CMS Lock-In
A huge reason the sidebar persists is simple inertia. WordPress, Drupal, Joomla—these platforms were architected around templates that made the sidebar a default feature. Designers just kept using them because they were there.
Worse, entire plugin ecosystems were built assuming the sidebar would exist. Ad widgets, category trees, recent comments—all depend on that sacred div with id="sidebar" to function.
Killing it would mean… doing actual layout work. Rebuilding templates. Rethinking hierarchy. So instead, we keep stuffing it with things that belong elsewhere—or nowhere.
But “that’s how we’ve always done it” is not a design strategy. It’s an excuse.
The Mobile-First, Scroll-Everything Era
Design today isn’t built around modular zones. It’s built around flows. Scrolls. Loops. Carousels. Feeds.
The sidebar, by contrast, is static and segregated. It’s not part of the primary narrative or user path—it’s a hope. A hope that maybe, after someone reads your longform article, they’ll suddenly have the curiosity and stamina to explore your 19-category archive from 2011.
Mobile browsing has also obliterated the idea that “more visible = more usable.” On phones, everything is hidden behind taps. So a sidebar becomes just another collapsed menu item. If the mobile experience doesn’t need a sidebar to function, why are we maintaining two versions of reality?
But Wait—What If We’re Throwing Away Context?
Let’s pause. Because here’s the best argument for sidebars: contextual relevance.
When well-executed (and that’s a big “if”), a sidebar can offer editorial value. A running glossary on a dense research article. A persistent shopping cart during ecommerce browsing. A progress indicator for a long tutorial.
In these cases, the sidebar isn’t “extra”—it’s supporting infrastructure. But that’s not how most websites use them. Instead, we get “Follow us on Facebook,” even though the user’s already on your site. Or worse, auto-playing videos of questionable design conference clips.
The sidebar isn’t dead. It’s just been grossly misused.
What Designers Are Doing Instead
The best designers in 2025 are rethinking the whole idea of secondary content.
- Sticky elements: Want to keep a CTA visible? Pin it inline, or float it subtly over content.
- Content-aware components: Instead of throwing related links in a sidebar, they’re integrated directly into the article flow—like inline cards, quote pullouts, or expandable “read more” sections.
- Persistent nav: Smart navbars can morph as the user scrolls—expanding or contracting based on context and scroll depth.
- End-of-content prompts: Instead of hoping users will look to the side, reward them after they finish reading with relevant next steps.
These tactics feel native to the scroll-first, swipe-hungry interfaces of today. The sidebar feels like a leftover snack from 2009.
Accessibility and Layout Debt
Here’s a dirty secret: sidebars often break accessibility.
They’re either skipped entirely by screen readers or announced in confusing ways (“Region: Sidebar 1 of 2”). Worse, they can mess up tab order, introduce redundant landmarks, and bloat the DOM. Designers aren’t testing them across modes—they’re styling them for desktop and praying.
Responsive design has only amplified the problem. On wide screens, sidebars are forgotten. On narrow ones, they’re hidden. In both cases, they add complexity without adding value.
Ask yourself this: is your sidebar content critical or decorative? If it’s critical, it shouldn’t be in a sidebar. If it’s decorative, it shouldn’t be there either.
Killing the Sidebar Doesn’t Mean Killing Information
Let’s be clear—we’re not advocating for less content or less user support. We’re advocating for contextual, responsive, and user-first content.
The information formerly known as sidebar content can and should still exist. But it needs to earn its place in the flow, not get grandfathered in via a layout slot.
Designers need to shift from “where can I put this extra thing” to “does this thing belong at all?” And if yes—“how can I present it when it’s most useful?”
That’s a mental model shift. And it’s overdue.
So Should You Kill Your Sidebar?
If you’re still unsure, run this checklist:
- If your sidebar vanished tomorrow, would your site still work?
- Are users actively clicking on anything in it?
- Does it adapt well to mobile?
- Does it improve the experience—or simply decorate it?
- Do you have analytics that justify its existence?
If you answered “no” more than “yes,” it might be time for a mercy killing.
Or at the very least, a long, honest redesign conversation.
A Final Thought: Sidebars Are Not Sacred
Design is not about legacy. It’s about intention. If a layout element doesn’t serve your users, it’s not nostalgic—it’s wasteful.
Sidebars, like carousels, parallax, or skeuomorphism, had their moment. But they’re not eternal. They’re optional. And increasingly, they’re obsolete.
Maybe it’s time to let the sidebar go. Not out of cruelty—but out of mercy.
And in doing so, maybe we’ll make space for better, leaner, smarter design.
