Is Infinite Scrolling Right for Your Website?
Infinite scrolling, aka “endless scroll,” is “a web-design technique that loads content continuously as the user scrolls down the page.”
Infinite scrolling enhances user experience by bring convenience to website users. They don’t have to click on page numbers to access the next page. To most users, especially mobile users, scrolling is easier than clicking. The action of scrolling down is intuitive.
Should your consider adding infinite scrolling to your website? It depends on what kind of content you have on the website and what is your users’ purpose of visiting your website.
News sites and social media sites usually adopt the infinite scrolling feature. On these websites, content streams all the time. Users care more about accessing the most recent posts and usually don’t have a specific goal of finding one post. They just want to explore what’s new.
However, when users want to access specific posts, infinite scrolling might cause problems. For example, if users are interested in finding something in your previous posts, it can take an unrealistic amount of time for them to scroll down. Adding pagination can solve the problem. By looking at the pagination buttons, users can better anticipate the amount of content that they are going to see. They have more control over the content.
Another problem of using infinite scrolling is that once you go to a specific post, it is difficult to return to where you were on the page with the infinite scrolling feature. With pagination, you can always go back to an item you are interested in on a specific page.
Also, if you have too much content, when do the users get to see the footer of your website?
If you think infinite scrolling is not for your site, here are four alternatives to infinite scrolling.
Danni Mei
I am a knowledgeable, detail and goal-oriented professional with 8 years of experience who is seeking to leverage a diverse skill set centered on communications. My thirst for excellence compels me to read professional publications, expand business relationships, and research current trends in content creation, marketing and technology.
