Navigation best practices
Atlassian’s new navigation can be adapted to fit the unique way you work. Whether you’re using Jira, Confluence, or other Atlassian products, you can now show only what you need in the sidebar, collapse it to save spin, star your most-used items, and move faster across tools. This guide covers everything you need to know to make the most of the new navigation.
All products
Customize the sidebar
Customizing your sidebar isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s about showing only what’s important to you. A clean, personalized sidebar helps you stay organized, unlike a cluttered one that wastes your time clicking around.
To customize the sidebar, go to More () > Customize sidebar. Here’s when to use the show, reorder, and hide options:
Show items: If you’re frequenting jumping to a navigation item that isn’t already visible in your sidebar, check its box. The fewer clicks it takes to get to your most-frequently visited places, the better.
Reorder items: Put the navigation items you use most near the top. This saves time, especially if you’re switching between the same few places all day.
Hide items: If you never or only rare use a navigation item, hide it. A cleaner sidebar helps you focus and prevents visual clutter.
Once you’ve made the changes, your sidebar updates instantly. What you’ll see is tailored to you — no one else’s sidebar is affected. It sticks across sessions, so the next time you log in, your sidebar will be exactly how you left it.
Best practice: Only show your most frequently-used navigation items and hide the rest. Start with a smaller side, and only add a navigation item if you find yourself using it often.
Expand, collapse, or resize the sidebar
The sidebar doesn’t need to be front and center all the time. Depending on your screen size and what you’re working on, it can be smarter to collapse or resize it. You can press ] to expand and [ to collapse the sidebar.
On smaller screens (like laptops) or during deep focus time: Space is limited. Collapse the sidebar to more space for what actually matters — your work. You can expand the sidebar when you need to navigate.
When multitasking or using multiple tabs: Resizing the sidebar can give you just enough context to navigate, without crowding out the rest of your screen.
On larger displays or when switching between projects or apps: Keep the sidebar expanded. Full labels help you move quickly without hovering or guessing.
Best practice: Choose the view that fits what you’re doing right now. There’s no single right way — you can switch it up based on the task at hand.
Jira
Customize project navigation
Jira projects now use horizontal tabs for project navigation. As a project admin, you can reorder or remove tabs to streamline the experience for your team. Customize the project navigation once, and everyone on the team benefits.
Best practice: Prioritize views your team uses most. If your team lives in the Board and Backlog, put those first. If you never use Calendar and Reports, hide them. A cleaner, focused tab layout helps reduce confusion and keeps everyone aligned.
Confluence
Star your most important spaces
Whenever you’re not inside a space, your starred spaces will show up in the sidebar. This means you're most important spaces are always visible, acting like a quick-access menu to the work that matters most.
Spaces to star:
Your team space
Active project spaces
Your own personal space
Spaces not to star:
Spaces you haven’t touched in months
One-off project spaces that are wrapped up
Any ‘just in case’ spaces that you don’t use frequently
Best practice: Star only the spaces that are actually part of your daily or weekly workflow. Think of it like a favorites list: it should be short, intentional, and based on how you work. Revisit the list every month to unstar what’s no longer relevant and add what’s new.
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