The short answer is no -- nested tabs is not a great solution or user experience. Problems with the design on the right: The design paradigm is not intuitive to the user. The user has to figure out that they can slide the secondary tabs to the left to see more.
- When should tabs be used?
- What can I use instead of tabs?
- What is the most compelling argument for determining the maximum number of tabs that can be used in a webpage design?
When should tabs be used?
Use tabs to alternate between views within the same context, not to navigate to different areas. This is the single most important point, because staying in place while alternating views is the reason we have tabs in the first place.
What can I use instead of tabs?
If they're too long, then accordions are a better choice rather than tabs! Accordions placed on a horizontal space have too much space to accommodate long options and plenty of data, while on tabs if you choose long names as labels, they will look more or less like accordions only!
What is the most compelling argument for determining the maximum number of tabs that can be used in a webpage design?
Perhaps the most compelling argument for using tabs is simply that they are so common in user interface design and, specifically, web design.