Drupal Nice Menus and Superfish. Description and comparison of dropdown menu modules.
Nice Menus and Superfish modules allow you to create vertical and horizontal dropdown menus. You should choose one of the two and use it. Both modules are popular and have many add-ons.
Both Nice Menus and Superfish use the same jQuery Superfish library:
https://www.drupal.org/project/nice_menus
https://www.drupal.org/project/superfish
https://github.com/mehrpadin/Superfish-for-Drupal
Nice Menus
Menus with Nice Menus are created automatically after enabling the module. No additional setup is required—the library is included with the module, making it very user-friendly.
Go to the block settings where several Nice Menu blocks will be available. Select one and choose which menu to display and how (e.g., dropdown style). Enable "Respect 'show as expanded' option" to ensure that all child menu items are visible even before a parent is selected.
You can also choose the dropdown direction (e.g., "Down" for downward dropdowns).
Nice Menus configuration is available at:
/admin/config/user-interface/nice_menus
There you can adjust dropdown speed and delay. A fast response time is often preferred for a better user experience.
Nice Menus is quick and easy to set up with minimal configuration.
Drupal Superfish
The Superfish module takes a bit more time to set up but offers greater customization of menu appearance and behavior.
You’ll need the Superfish library made specifically for Drupal:
https://github.com/mehrpadin/Superfish-for-Drupal
If not already installed, you should also install the Libraries API module:
https://www.drupal.org/project/libraries
Place the Superfish library in sites/all/libraries/superfish.
Also install the jQuery Update module:
https://www.drupal.org/project/jquery_update
Recommended jQuery settings: Front-end 1.7, Admin 1.5 (to avoid compatibility issues with Views):
/admin/config/development/jquery_update
Once enabled, go to /admin/reports/status to ensure the Superfish library is detected.
Then assign a Superfish block in /admin/structure/block. There, you can select the menu, orientation, theme style (e.g., Blue), and adjust dropdown speed and delay.
Though it has more options, everything works well by default. You can additionally install jquery.easing for advanced effects, but it's optional.
Superfish also shines in mobile adaptability: on mobile devices, it turns into a <select>-style dropdown, making navigation user-friendly.
It also works well on touchscreens. Additional plugin settings allow for tuning, but defaults usually work out of the box.
In conclusion, Superfish is more powerful than Nice Menus in terms of functionality, but Nice Menus is faster and simpler to set up. If you choose Nice Menus, consider using these responsive menu helper modules: