What once was taboo and overused is now one of the most pivotal design features for website design. Breaking through its old stigmas, the technique of website scrolling is reemerging.
The rebirth of scrolling can be attributed to one major piece of technology: mobile devices. The use of mobile devices has now surpassed the use of desktop and UI developers have had to adjust accordingly. The smaller the screen, the longer the scroll – making scrolling a necessity.
The widespread use of increased internet speeds also plays a role in scrolling’s comeback. High-speed interest is accessible nearly everywhere you users are, which makes scrolling through a page a quicker way to access information; rather than jumping from page to page.
Social media’s takeover is another factor. People are in the rhythm of scrolling through their screens all day and relate the scrolling motion to obtaining a wealth of user-generated content.
If you combine a long scroll action and a ‘card-based’ design, your users will digest information piece-by-piece, which is already the preferred experience for web and mobile users.
There as been an emergence of ‘story-telling’ through scrolling and studies show that users would rather scroll through your page than be bombarded with all your information above the fold. Advances in CSS and Javascript allow the styling of your scroll to be much more appealing to visitors than in the past.
Graphics, animations, videos, parallax and icons are all examples how to break your ‘website story’ into beginning, middle, and end sections.
Other advantages of bringing back the scroll include:
– Interaction boost – Constant stimulation of changing events encourages the visitor to keep playing on your site.
– Perceived as faster – Your user perceives their long scrolling experience as faster than loading page after page. The same way that being stuck at a red light for 2 minutes feels longer than going the back way that takes 5 min but doesn’t have any lights.
– Increase session duration – Would you leave something that’s fun? Engaged scrolling can result in longer time spent on your site, which can lead to your users finding more intriguing things – like a new product they now want to buy.
– Gesture Controls – As mentioned earlier, users are already in the habit of scrolling with their thumbs and fingers on their mobile device. The gesture is something they prefer over clicking and tapping multiple links.
Keep in mind when daydreaming about your next website design – scrolling is the preferred method of navigation among visitors.
Of course, you could always consult web design experts to handle all the trends for you, such as Infinity Sports and Entertainment.
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