# Accordion (UI)

> A stack of headers that expand to reveal content one section at a time, used to compress long pages into a scannable list.

- Category: UI Components
- Canonical: https://www.themasterly.com/glossary/accordion-ui

An accordion is a vertical stack of headers, each expanding to reveal its content. Its purpose is compression: it turns a page somebody would have to scroll through into a list they can scan, so they can see the whole range of what is available and open only the part they came for.

That framing decides when it is the right component. An accordion is for content where the headings alone are useful. When the headings are not enough to choose from, an accordion hides everything and helps nobody.

## Accordion, tabs, disclosure

| | Shape | Best for | Fails when |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Accordion** | Vertical stack, several can be open | Independent sections of uneven length, FAQs, settings groups | Headings alone do not distinguish the sections |
| **Tabs** | Horizontal, exactly one active | Alternative views of the same object | More than about five, or on narrow screens |
| **Disclosure** | A single expander | One optional detail, advanced options | Used repeatedly where an accordion would group better |

The distinction between an accordion and tabs is about relationship. Sections that are alternatives to each other, where seeing two at once makes no sense, are tabs. Sections that are simply separate topics are an accordion.

## Decisions that make it work

**Headings that answer the question.** In an FAQ, the heading should be the question in the words somebody would ask it. Vague headings force people to open everything, which is the state the component exists to avoid.

**One open or several.** Allowing several is the honest default for independent content. Forcing a single open section is right only when the content is genuinely alternative, and at that point tabs are usually a better fit.

**A predictable indicator.** A chevron that rotates, in a consistent direction, with the state also carried in markup. Two indicators pointing different ways in the same product is a common and avoidable inconsistency.

**The whole header is the target.** Making only the chevron clickable produces a small target and a lot of missed clicks.

**Content that does not jump.** Expanding one section should not push the one somebody is reading out of view. Animating the height and keeping the clicked header in place is the difference between a component that feels controlled and one that feels unstable.

## Where accordions are the wrong answer

**As a substitute for editing.** Long, unstructured content stays long. An accordion hides the length without reducing it, and the reader now has to guess where things are.

**For content everybody needs.** If most people open every section, the accordion has added a click per section and removed the ability to scan the text or search the page visually.

**For a small number of short sections.** Three paragraphs do not need machinery.

**For critical information.** Anything a person must see should not be one click away behind a heading they may not read.

## In B2B interfaces

Accordions do well in enterprise products for a specific reason: settings and configuration are exactly the case they were designed for. Many independent groups, most of which any given person never touches, where seeing the full list of what is configurable is itself useful.

Three qualifications apply.

**Deep linking.** Somebody following a support link to a specific setting should arrive with that section already open and scrolled to. This requires state in the URL and is regularly forgotten.

**Search across collapsed content.** In-page search does not find text inside a section a browser has not rendered. In a settings page with forty groups, that is a real gap, and it either needs its own search or needs the content present and merely hidden.

**Permission variants.** Sections a person cannot access should not be rendered as empty expanders. Either omit them or say plainly that access is restricted and who can grant it.

## In practice

A settings page has forty options in one long scroll, and support tickets keep arriving from customers who cannot find things they have used before.

Grouping into an accordion of eight sections makes the range visible: a person can now see that notification settings exist without reading the whole page. The tickets about finding things drop.

A second wave of tickets replaces them, from people who followed a help-article link to a specific setting and landed at the top of a collapsed page. The component was right and the deep-linking was missing, which is the part that is invisible until the accordion exists.

## Where teams get it wrong

- **Vague headings.** People open everything, and the compression is lost.
- **Everything open by default.** The long page, with additional clicking.
- **Only the chevron is clickable.** A small target for a large row.
- **No deep link.** Support articles point at a section nobody arrives at.
- **Hiding what everyone needs.** A click charged on every visit.
- **Chevrons without state in the markup.** It looks correct and is unreadable to assistive technology.

## Related terms

- [UI Design](https://www.themasterly.com/glossary/ui-design)
- [Information Architecture](https://www.themasterly.com/glossary/information-architecture)
- [Interaction Design](https://www.themasterly.com/glossary/interaction-design)
- [UX Design](https://www.themasterly.com/glossary/ux-design)

## FAQ

**What is an accordion in UI design?**

A vertical stack of headers, each of which expands to reveal its content. It compresses a long page into a scannable list of topics, letting somebody see the full range of what is available and open only the part they need.

**When should you use an accordion instead of tabs?**

Use an accordion when sections are independent, of uneven length, and a reader may want several open at once, such as an FAQ. Use tabs when the sections are alternative views of the same thing and only one makes sense at a time. Accordions stack vertically and scale to many items; tabs run out of horizontal room after about five.

**Should accordion sections be open or closed by default?**

Closed, when the point is to let somebody scan the range of topics. Open the first section when there is a natural starting point and the page would otherwise look empty. Never open everything by default, since that is the long page the accordion was meant to replace, now with extra clicking.

**Are accordions bad for SEO?**

No, provided the content is present in the HTML rather than fetched on expand. Google indexes content hidden behind an expander. Content that only exists after a network request may not be seen, which is a technical decision rather than a design one.

**What accessibility does an accordion need?**

Each header must be a real button, reachable by keyboard, carrying aria-expanded that reflects its state, and associated with the region it controls. Chevrons must not be the only indicator of state. Using a heading element for the header lets screen-reader users navigate the sections as a list.

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