Social networking sites have absolutely changed the way we interact with the web, training us to scroll indefinitely through our newsfeeds. For better or worse this is a behaviour that is very familiar to us now.
Long scrolling is fast catching up with websites because of the popularity of social media sites like Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook etc. The long feeds keep the reader hooked to a single page, is visually appealing, is a faster way to showcase engaging content and helps maximize page views and time on site. Long scrolling is also great for storytelling or to highlight the quality of a story or product.
There is nothing like ‘below the fold’ or continue to the next page if the content is on the same page, it makes things easier for the reader who scrolls through the website. And, with more people using smartphones these days, long scrolling websites seem like a trend that is going to be around for a while.
In fact, it is because of the use of smartphone’s that this web design trend has picked up. When a mobile user scrolls a website and reads content it is fast and there is no distraction to move to the next page. This actually helps a reader to stay connected to the website. Even if the website is loaded with content, long scrolling makes it easier to read through.
Why You Should Implement Long Scrolling?
- Long scrolling helps in better navigation as there is no added interaction or any type of distraction from the page. If the navigation is smooth, it will also benefit your website.
- Long scrolling website is great to keep the readers engaged. When a reader visits your website, there is no ‘click next’ button so it makes the reader go through the whole page at once. It keeps the reader of the page focused on your website content. It also helps to reduce the interaction cost and that may help your website.
- Long scrolling websites translate well to all mobile devices, which mean it reaches more smartphones in a faster way. Long scrolling works in a seamless way with all the mobile phones which is great to increase your traffic base as it keeps a reader affianced to your website.
- It’s a speedy solution for slow internet as well. It’s like the perfect antidote to websites that don’t load. Once a long scrolling website gets loaded, you get easy access to the flow of information.
- Its quick and simple solution for huge content displayed on your website. If a reader clicks on a long scrolling website, there may be an indecision regarding a page to be read. But, with long scrolling, the information is available on a single page. Even the website owner gets to put across important information on the page that matters the most.
7 Ways to Improve Your Long Scrolling Website
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Optimize The Page Loading Time
The loading time of a long scrolling site should be great. If the loading time is slow, then a reader would get miffed and it will be a turn off for anyone who tries to open your site. According to a study by Kissmetrics, 47% of people expect a website to load within two seconds. And, if the website takes more than 3 seconds to load then 40% of people leave the website.
You can easily optimize your WordPress website’s speed and the time of loading pages through many loading techniques. You can optimize your images and use compression feature. Minimize the white space and remove unnecessary Meta tags and Meta content from your site. Also, minimize unnecessary javascript and client-side scripting.
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Create Epic Content
Your content should not only be engaging but also great in quality. The best content is the key to long scrolling websites. Your content should focus on storytelling to keep your readers hooked. It should have a great visual appeal that includes photos, illustrations, and videos. Give your readers options but in a restricted format.
The content of your website should be moving, engaging and highly relatable. Words move readers in a great way and this can only benefit your long scrolling website. Attractive content is the focus of long scrolling websites, so pay special attention to the words that you use.
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Perplexity is one thing that often affects a long scrolling website. A reader might get lost reading the page and navigation would be a problem for a reader. It also affects the inability to determine the location and access to the page.
It’s important to keep the navigation option visible for long scrolling sites. A sticky navigation menu not only shows the current location of the website but it also helps in proper orientation of the page.
Long scrolling websites have limited screen space so you need to be careful regarding navigation. Using jump to page option can help you with the page. A visible navigation option works best for mobile screens. It’s a good idea to hide the navigation bar while scrolling and then revealed when the reader tries to get back to the top.
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Change The Position of URL
In long scrolling, sharing a URL becomes impossible because the reader is on the same page. As the URL is not visible, it also frustrates the reader visiting your website.
There is no switching between the devices to continue the web browsing from the spot of the URL. However, with HTML5, you will be able to change the URL of the browser without reloading the page.
History.pushState() function allows a web designer to make an alternation in the URL without reloading the page. This allows the user or a reader to match the scrolling behaviour with respect to the website.
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Concentrate on Visuals and Designing
Strong visuals and designing help the readers to grasp a story quickly. Visual cues such as connecting lines and similar colours create a great effect from a single scroll. Incorporate animations in the scrolling techniques for your website. The best practices for long scrolling website should include small interactions to engage the readers.
This can include animated boxes, image sliders, and videos too. You can also divide the scroll animations to the content of the page for that great effect. Great interactions, elements, and content play a vital part in designing a long scrolling website.
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Use Scrolling Techniques
Any reader who visits a long scrolling website expects the information on a single page rather than clicking on different pages. Long scrolling websites work well on mobile and desktop both. You can use scrolling techniques such as colour block, parallax, and mixed content. Alternating screens technique can be used if you have too many images on your site.
You don’t have to worry about hidden mobile navigations with these techniques. With a long scrolling design, the content is on a single page, so the focus is right.
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A Proper Roadmap is a Must
A proper roadmap is important for long scrolling websites, as the readers should know where they are and where they will head. Incorporate roadmaps in your long scrolling websites for easy access. Roadmaps can be in the form of elements that show how much more content is left.
Sticky navigation when the reader reads the page of your website. There can be arrows that highlight the page and tell the reader to move next. There should be a roadmap to get at the beginning of the page because that is most important for your website.
Summing The Long-Scroll
Give your readers an awesome experience by designing a great long scrolling website.
Follow a standard size of a mobile device of your long scrolling site. You must avoid fancy scrolling and stick to user-friendly scrolling techniques. Try to hide desktop elements if you are aiming at the mobile device. Heavy images can be moved to the gallery of your website. Likewise, eliminate the duplicate elements of the website.
A long scrolling website experience can be enhanced with the above tips. A reader should be engaged to your website, as that will help to increase traffic and CTR rate.
2 thoughts on “7 Ways to Improve Your Long Scrolling Website”
Not gonna lie, I don’t like long scrolling websites at all. Am I the only one? Am I in the minority? I like to get to the bottom of the page and know that I’m done. Having an infinite string of articles load automatically that I may or may not be interested in is just annoying to me.
The only thing worse than that are these sites that I’ve run into that automatically navigate to the next article after a certain amount of time passes. Like, how about you don’t hijack my browser and send me to somewhere I didn’t ask to be sent? Thanks.
Very nice post, its very useful tips