SaaSFrameMinimalist SaaS Navigation: Sidebar Design That Scales
Minimalist SaaS navigation keeps the primary sidebar to the five to nine places people visit daily, groups the rest under short section labels, moves configuration into a separate settings navigation, and adds search or a command palette so less frequent destinations do not need a permanent link.
- Keep the primary sidebar to the places people visit every day.
- Group secondary links under short section labels rather than nesting them deeply.
- Give settings their own navigation instead of mixing it into the product sidebar.
- Use icons plus labels; icon-only navigation works only for a handful of well-known items.
- Add search or a command palette for everything else.
Navigation grows with every feature a team ships. Minimalist navigation is the discipline of keeping the everyday paths obvious while the product keeps growing behind them.
As of November 2026, 379 screens in SaaSFrame carry the sidebar navigation pattern, which makes the sidebar the default layout of SaaS products.
What belongs in the main sidebar?
The places people visit every day, and little else. Five to nine primary destinations, user-created items such as views or projects, and a way to reach everything else.
How do you group navigation without nesting?
With short section labels. Flat groups under labels like "Pinned" or "Shared" scan faster than folders inside folders; reserve collapsing for user-created lists that can grow.
Should settings have their own navigation?
Yes. Configuration is visited rarely and has many pages, so it deserves a separate area with its own sidebar grouped by scope.
How do icons and labels work together?
Use both. Icons speed up recognition once users know the product; labels make it learnable. Icon-only rails work for a handful of universal items, not for a full product.
Test it Hide the labels and ask a new user what each icon opens. Every wrong answer is an icon that needs its label.
How do you reach everything else?
Search. A command palette or search field means rare destinations do not need a permanent link, which keeps the sidebar short.
Where can you see more navigation?
Browse the sidebar navigation pattern, the search pattern and settings screens. For search itself, read command palettes and search modals.
Frequently asked questions
Should a SaaS app use a sidebar or top navigation?
A sidebar for products with many sections or user-created items such as projects and views; a top bar for products with a few sections and wide content. As of November 2026, 379 screens in SaaSFrame carry the sidebar navigation pattern.
How many items should the main navigation have?
Roughly five to nine primary destinations. More than that should be grouped, collapsed or moved to search.
Should the sidebar be collapsible?
Yes for content-heavy products like editors and inboxes. Keep icons visible in the collapsed state and remember the user's choice.
Where should settings go?
In a separate settings area with its own sidebar grouped by scope, such as personal, workspace and billing, as Tines and Hugging Face do.
Do icons need labels?
In most cases yes. Icons alone are ambiguous beyond a few universal ones like home, search and settings.
Sidebar Navigation389 examples
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