Plan requirement
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Accordions hide content behind a click, which helps in one situation and hurts in most others. Ctrl-F does not always find text inside a closed one.
Insert one
- Insert an accordion in the editor.
- Write the heading, which is what readers see collapsed.
- Put the content inside.
- Save and try it as a reader.
Its neighbour in that same menu is Tabs, and the two get mixed up. An accordion collapses sections the reader opens one at a time; tabs swap grouped content in and out of the same space. Steps for two different systems are tabs; a list of error codes is an accordion.
The one situation where it helps
A reference article where the reader wants one of many entries. A list of error codes, or settings, where seeing all of them expanded would mean scrolling past twenty to reach yours.
Collapsed, the headings become a scannable index.
Where it hurts
- Steps in a procedure. Somebody following instructions should not click to reveal each one.
- The answer. Hiding the point of the article behind a click is the worst use.
- Making an article look shorter. The content is still there and now it is harder to reach.
Two practical costs
Search within the page. A reader pressing ctrl-F may not find text inside a collapsed section, which is exactly what somebody hunting for one detail does.
Printing. Collapsed content may not print, and some people still print procedures.
The heading has to work alone
Collapsed, the heading is all there is. "More information" tells a reader nothing about whether to open it; the specific question does.
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