4 ms·

I actually don't hate carousels and I am part of the 1% that click them. The stats don't lie.. but what is a better way to present information?

aflag 4y ago
The stats can lie. That number is not deterministic for all carousels in all contexts. There are probably contexts where the user interacts and clicks through the carousels often. However, it is hard to get it right.
duckmysick 4y ago
One way would be to show information sequentially, one piece after the other. Think how regular websites that you scroll down are organized - but also brochures or flyers. Yes, you have to decide on the order and one item will be the first. But you do the same with the carousel anyway. Plus, a regular layout makes it easier to scan for information. If you must hide some information for whatever reason (to preserve space, to increase user engagement metrics), perhaps tabs would work. They can have useful labels which are better than the navigation dots on the carousel.
micromacrofoot 4y ago
just put the information on the page if you don't have space, then you have too much information and need to make prioritization decisions carousels are often the reflection of the inability to make a decision
strogonoff 4y ago
Back-to-fundamentals exercise for a recovering carouselist: 1. Write a short summary of every content phase, and initially just straight up list those summaries each linking to details[0]. 2. As an improvement, consider if you want the user to click/tap to expand a point without leaving the page. Pay special attention to accessibility, tabindex, aria-describedby et al. as you do that. 3. At certain viewport sizes, you may put details to the side, and highlight the expanded point. 4. Then, as a final step, you could also cycle expanded points until first user input. Respect prefers reduced motion flag. Voilà, you have a carousel but thought-through, accessible and purposeful. [0] There is a natural limit on the number of points that can be shown. Make sure to be clear about the purpose of the widget. If a business is attempting to list more than 4–5 points, either there is a problem with focus or there are nearly non-overlapping audiences (e.g., seller/buyer) and resource should correspondingly be split into multiple entry points. These are aspects where design cannot be decoupled from business decisions.

aflag 4y ago

The stats can lie. That number is not deterministic for all carousels in all contexts. There are probably contexts where the user interacts and clicks through the carousels often. However, it is hard to get it right.

duckmysick 4y ago

One way would be to show information sequentially, one piece after the other. Think how regular websites that you scroll down are organized - but also brochures or flyers. Yes, you have to decide on the order and one item will be the first. But you do the same with the carousel anyway. Plus, a regular layout makes it easier to scan for information. If you must hide some information for whatever reason (to preserve space, to increase user engagement metrics), perhaps tabs would work. They can have useful labels which are better than the navigation dots on the carousel.

micromacrofoot 4y ago

just put the information on the page if you don't have space, then you have too much information and need to make prioritization decisions carousels are often the reflection of the inability to make a decision

strogonoff 4y ago

Back-to-fundamentals exercise for a recovering carouselist: 1. Write a short summary of every content phase, and initially just straight up list those summaries each linking to details[0]. 2. As an improvement, consider if you want the user to click/tap to expand a point without leaving the page. Pay special attention to accessibility, tabindex, aria-describedby et al. as you do that. 3. At certain viewport sizes, you may put details to the side, and highlight the expanded point. 4. Then, as a final step, you could also cycle expanded points until first user input. Respect prefers reduced motion flag. Voilà, you have a carousel but thought-through, accessible and purposeful. [0] There is a natural limit on the number of points that can be shown. Make sure to be clear about the purpose of the widget. If a business is attempting to list more than 4–5 points, either there is a problem with focus or there are nearly non-overlapping audiences (e.g., seller/buyer) and resource should correspondingly be split into multiple entry points. These are aspects where design cannot be decoupled from business decisions.