Hi, I’m Amsul.

January 08, 2013

Infinite scroll responsibly

Using infinite scroll on a site is conceptually quite simple: as the visitor approaches the bottom of the page, load more of whatever stuff they’re looking at.

Yet, time and time again, I come across implementations without an understanding of the impact on the user experience (such as a footer that suddenly vanishes out of view).

Common solutions to this are adding a time/distance delay (super unpredictable), using a sticky footer (yanky on some mobile devices), or using an off-canvas layout (my preferred method). Or just KISS1 it and stick with manual progression. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! Heck, even Google still has pagination2.

It’s just a matter of figuring out how your application is most effective for the people using it – which is definitely easier said than done.