Infinite scrolling has become an increasingly popular trend in web design. The design of infinite scrolling is as simple as it sounds, it displays your content and allows your viewers to keep scrolling without having to stop. So is this a trend that you see working for your website or does is sound like something you would like to avoid?
Like any trend, infinite scrolling had its pros and cons. But that all depends on the type and goals of your website. Infinite scrolling is a type of web interaction technique that continuously loads content as your visitor scrolls though your site rather than having to click on links. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are the best examples of infinite scrolling. However, many other sites have taken notice to this trend and implemented the design into their sites as well. Infinite scrolling isn’t for every website, so before you decide to join in on this trend I would implore you to inform yourself of the pros and cons listed below:
PROS:
- Great for Touch Screen Devices- Today most mobile devise and tablets are made with touch technology and it’s can be difficult to tap those tiny page links, which is why infinite scrolling solves this problem.
- Great for Visuals- One of the best way to display high quality images and image content is by implementing infinite scrolling into your web design. Great examples of how visual oriented websites benefits from infinite scrolling include Pinterest and Flickr.
- Quick and Simple Browsing- Infinite pages are typically faster than regular webpages. The reason for this is because as the user scrolls down the webpage more content automatically loads on the same page which eliminates the need for clicking on links and reloading new pages every time.
- Keeps Users Engaged and Curious- Infinite scrolling tends to trigger automatic responses based on curiosity and ease which keeps the users engaged while waiting for new content to load. People are wanting to be constantly entertain and not disrupted by having to click a “load more’ button and then having to wait. Infinite scrolling takes advantage of that.
CONS:
- Navigation Problems- One of the basic UX principles states that users need to always know where they are on your website. This is key for website usability. In the case of having an infinite scrolling page it can be quite difficult to understand where you are on the webpage at a certain point. In addition, when clicking on a certain link and then wanting to return to where you left off, you are brought back to the top of the webpage.
- No Skipping- A huge advantage of paginated content is when you need to skip the first 10 pages and go the 11th page you can do so. This is impossible with infinite scrolling. You just have to scroll down to find something that interests you.
- Footer Problem- This is a big issues with ecommerce websites. If you’ve made an online purchase before you know exactly where the important links are located: in the footer. Now imagine you want to visit the “shipping information” on an infinite scrolling page. This can be a big hassle when a link could be just a quick click away.
- Overwhelming Content- It’s great to have a lot of quality information on your website. But when there’s infinite content loading every second users may start to feel overwhelmed and out of control.
Infinite scrolling isn’t for every website. So before choosing to implement this web design trend into your website make sure it’s the right choice for you. For more information on web design, contact Jelly Websites in Corona, CA at 951-371-9327 or visit our website at www.jellywebsites.com to learn about the services we offer.
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