While in the process of redesigning 4wheelparts.com, I decided to explore new methods of working with our huge number of inventory and categories. I did some research and noticed a new trend for ecommerce sites in having what they call “mega drop down menus”.
According to usability expert Jakob Nielson, mega drop down menus tested to be more efficient for large scale websites.I decided to experiment with different ways of implementing this technique and would like to share how I achieved this method.
Given that regular drop-down menus are rife with usability problems, it takes a lot for me to recommend a new form of drop-down. But, as our testing videos show, mega drop-downs overcome the downsides of regular drop-downs. Thus, I can recommend one while warning against the other. – Jakob Nielsen – Alert Box
As I read his article he recommended that these kind of drop down menus should have a subtle time delay when hovering in and out of them. I decided to use the Hover Intent jQuery plugin to help me achieve this effect.