Components

Details

Make a page easier to scan by letting users reveal more detailed information only if they need it.

When to use this component

Use the details component to make a page easier to scan when it contains information that only some users will need.

When not to use this component

Do not use the details component to hide information that the majority of your users will need.

Decide between using details, accordions and tabs

Details, accordions, and tabs all hide sections of content which a user can choose to reveal.

Use the details component instead of tabs or an accordion if you only have 1 section of content.

The details component is less visually prominent than tabs and accordions, so tends to work better for content which is not as important to users.

How it works

The details component is a short link that shows more detailed help text when a user clicks on it.

There are 2 ways to use the details component. You can use HTML or, if you are using Nunjucks or the GOV.UK Prototype Kit, you can use the Nunjucks macro.

Make the link text short and descriptive so users can quickly work out if they need to click on it.

Research on this component

There is evidence that some users avoid clicking the link to show more details, as they think it will take them away from the page.

There are concerns that some users of voice assist software will not be able to interact with the component. Some software might require the user to specifically refer to the link to show more details as a button in order to interact with it.

Help improve this component

To help make sure that this page is useful, relevant and up to date, you can:

Tell us if your service uses this component

Take part in our usage survey (opens in a new tab) to help us improve this component to better meet the needs of the services that use it.

Need help?

If you’ve got a question about the GOV.UK Design System, contact the team.