Should mobile navigation use hamburger menus or be visible?

The hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) is standard for mobile navigation when you have many menu items. It saves space but hides navigation. Research shows hamburger menus can reduce discovery and engagement. Alternatives include: tab bars at the bottom (like apps), priority+ pattern (showing most important items with overflow in hamburger), or full-screen navigation on mobile. We typically use hamburger menus for sites with 5+ top-level pages because they're familiar and work well. For simpler sites, we might display all navigation links in a bottom tab bar. The key is making mobile navigation thumb-friendly with adequate tap targets. We test navigation usability on actual devices during development to ensure comfortable browsing.