Introduction.
Infinite scroll is a way to display your website’s content that allows the readers to keep scrolling and never stop. The content is updated and loaded immediately producing an infinite amount of results. It does not have a distinct endpoint. Facebook and Twitter are the best examples of infinite scrolling.
The choice a designer makes depends greatly on content organization, desired user experience, and technological needs. The design you choose for your organization, weighing the pros and cons of infinite scrolling will help you make the best possible design choice.
Pros of Infinite Scroll
1. Helps To Retain Users
Infinite Scrolling is a great way to keep readers engaged. The technique is common for sites with lists or content that is frequently updated. Since content continues to appear, users find themselves interacting for a longer time period.
Moreover, users are not disrupted by having to click some button and wait to load new content.
2. Useful for Smartphone and Touch Devices
When you are browsing the web on a mobile phone, it can be very irritating to click small links to load new content. Therefore, mobile users like infinite scroll design.
3. Browsing is Easy
You just have to scroll to browse a website with infinite scroll design. It’s that simple. The users don’t have to worry about anything else. As a result, you won’t have to worry about users leaving the site because they don’t understand how it works.
4. Great for Displaying a Large Number of Images/Videos
Infinite scrolling is the best fit for websites that have a large number of images or videos to display. The user can easily browse through content and won’t need to click on buttons. Pinterest and Youtube are common examples.
Cons of Infinite Scroll
1. No Footer in the Website
A website with infinite scrolling won’t have a footer. Since most of the websites contain footer, users expect footer containing vital information at the end of a page.
The common vital details placed in the footer are copyright information, contact information, and more. Generally, these details can’t be abandoned.
2. Lowers SEO Rankings
Infinite scroll significantly lowers SEO rankings on Google search. This is because Google treats the page as singular content, meaning Google bots don’t load more and therefore overlook a great deal of content. In turn, this lowers SEO rankings because there is less content to add to the rankings.
3. Can Increase the Bounce Rate
Infinite Scrolling can take forever to load. It can just stop working if users actually scroll indefinitely. It can also crash just like any other website design. These irritating problems can increase the bounce rate.
4. Navigation Can Get Messy
Knowing that a large number of website visitors get to a site in a way other than the homepage, navigation is vital to keeping those users around. Infinite scrolling can make navigation a bit messy.
In Conclusion
We hope that you got an idea about the pros and cons of infinite scroll. Using or not using infinite scrolling in your projects can be a big decision. It’s stylish and provides some significant pros, but it can also present challenges for designers and users.
None of our free or premium themes have infinite scroll design. However, the themes are compatible with Jetpack. You can use it to have an infinite scroll feature.
What are your views regarding the infinite scroll? Do you use it on your website? Feel free to leave your comments below.