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Pagination vs. infinite scroll: which is better for your content?
Choosing what suits you is a matter of context, purpose, and content that you want to deliver.
Consider this:
Infinite scroll is usually appropriate for:
- Supporting content exploration and discovery: Applicable to social media, news feeds, e-commerce product listings, or image galleries where users can engage in in-depth exploration without a particular purpose.
- Mobile-first design: It emphasizes ease of use and navigation on mobile devices.
And, pagination is preferred when:
- Users are looking for a certain piece of information: For example, product catalogs or search results where the user might want to skip to a specific page or product.
What are the benefits and limitations of infinite scrolling?
The benefits and limitations of infinite scrolling usually cover the following:
- Enhancing user retention x Accessibility considerations: The abundance of information keeps users interested in the website, but it could be quite frustrating for keyboard users and others who depend on screen readers.
- Improved mobile experience x Potential performance issues: The application is intuitive and simple on touch devices but having a lot of data makes the website slow.
- Seamless navigation x Finding specific content: It’s an effortless interaction to simply just scroll straight down; still, users may have difficulty trying to find something they have seen before.
Is infinite scrolling right for your design?
The following questions can help you identify if infinite scrolling is suitable for your website design:
- What is the overall essence of your website? Is the intention to allow the users to explore or is it to convey a certain piece of information?
- Do the users mainly hold their phones? Then probably, infinite scrolling would work for them.
- How about performance optimization? With infinite scrolling, careful optimization must be performed to avoid slow page inclinations.
- Did you consider accessibility? Spacing is recommended to make certain infinite scrolling viable for users who have other disabilities.
It’s ideal to try both infinite scrolling and pagination on your website and measure the performance of whichever works best for your audience.
What types of websites or applications are best suited for infinite scrolling?
Infinite scrolling is used for websites or applications like the ones listed below:
- Social Networking: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Social media websites.
- News websites: These websites require frequent updates, particularly in this instance.
- Image galleries and e-commerce product listings: Must be in the perfect order within an appropriate context.
- Mobile apps: The inclusion of infinite scrolling in the mobile interface is a relatively straightforward process.
Are there any accessibility concerns related to infinite scrolling?
Yes. It’s important to acknowledge that website infinite scrolling has its merits, but its usage requires a cautious approach. These aspects, in addition to how endless scrolling is integrated, play an important role in delivering a consistent user experience.
Providing clear navigation landmarks, alternative means of access to the content, and proper focus management are some of the important features in making infinite scrolling usable for all users.
• Structure the content in such a way that it possesses clear landmark features and headings for those who use screen readers for browsing, even with the option of infinite scrolling.
Conclusion
Infinite scrolling is an interactive feature that allows for continuous viewing of content as users scroll down, potentially increasing user engagement. Nonetheless, this is not the case with every approach. Examining a feature’s advantages, disadvantages, and suitability for a specific audience enables informed choices regarding the website’s functionality and user experience.
