1. Provide Interesting Content Right From The Start
Despite the fact that people usually start scrolling as soon as their page loads, content at the top, visible part of the screen is very important. What appears at the top of the page creates an initial impression and sets a quality expectation for your users. Users do scroll, but only if what they see when they enter the page is promising enough. To make sure that people will scroll, you need to provide content that keeps your visitors interested. Thus, put your most compelling content at the top area of the page:- Provide interesting facts (facts that attract visitors and keep their attention)
- Use engaging imagery (users pay close attention to images and pictures that contain relevant information)
2. Give Users a Visual Cue
Sometimes the best way to make users scroll is to directly ask them to do it. Simply inform users that most of the content is available below the fold. A subtle visual cue, such as an arrow pointing off-screen or a text “scroll down”, can inform users that most of the content is available below. Arrow pointing off-screen informs users that most of the content will be laid out below.3. Keep Navigation Options Persistently Visible
Navigation is a make or break aspect of the user experience of a site. One of the biggest risks of using long scrolling in your design is a possibility of user disorientation. If the navigation bar loses its visibility when users scroll down, they will have to scroll all the way back up when they’re deep within the page . Usually, this behavior confuses and frustrates users. The obvious solution for this problem is to use a sticky navigation menu which shows current location and remains on the screen in the same position at all times. An example of persistently visible sticky navigation. Mobile devices only: Since the mobile screen is much smaller than the desktop screen, a visible navigation bar can take up a relatively significant part of the screen. One way to solve the problem of a small screen estate is to hide a navigation bar when users are scrolling for new content and make it visible when users pull down in order to get back to the top.4. Use Functional Animation To Engage Visitors
Creative effects like parallax scrolling and scroll-activated animations can engage users to scroll more. They turn scrolling into something more fun and make the user wonder “what will happen next?” Consider breaking up your page into scrollable “chunks.” Within each chunk, you can introduce the content through creative animations. As users scroll, animations transition them to the next screen while creating a path of content to follow. Parallax is another popular animated effect that can improve scrolling experience. Parallax effect creates an illusion of depth and immersion by making the background image move slower than the content in the foreground. When your site wants to tell a story in a smooth, linear fashion, long scrolling paired with parallax effect is able to create a completely immersive browsing experience.5. Avoid Scroll Hijacking
Websites that implement scroll hijacking take control of the scroll and override a basic function of the web browser. Scroll hijacking is bad because the user no longer has full control of the page scroll and unable to predict its behavior. Users’ expectation of a website’s scrolling interaction shouldn’t be destroyed for the sake of narrative experience. Apple uses scroll hijacking on their Mac Pro page.Conclusion
Long scrolling is able to create a completely immersive browsing experience. It’s completely possible to make a journey as enjoyable as the destination. When users like the content on your site and find UI intuitive, then they won’t really mind the length of the scroll.Nick Babich
Fireart Studio is a design studio passionate about creating beautiful design for startups & leading brands. We pay special attention to nuances all the time to create professional while cool products that will not only meet all expectations, but exceed them.
Read Next
10+ Best Resources & Tools for Web Designers (2024 update)
Is searching for the best web design tools to suit your needs akin to having a recurring bad dream? Does each…
By WDD Staff
3 Essential Design Trends, April 2024
Ready to jump into some amazing new design ideas for Spring? Our roundup has everything from UX to color trends…
How to Plan Your First Successful Website
Planning a new website can be exciting and — if you’re anything like me — a little daunting. Whether you’re an…
By Simon Sterne
15 Best New Fonts, March 2024
Welcome to March’s edition of our roundup of the best new fonts for designers. This month’s compilation includes…
By Ben Moss
LimeWire Developer APIs Herald a New Era of AI Integration
Generative AI is a fascinating technology. Far from the design killer some people feared, it is an empowering and…
By WDD Staff
20 Best New Websites, March 2024
Welcome to our pick of sites for March. This month’s collection tends towards the simple and clean, which goes to show…
Exciting New Tools for Designers, March 2024
The fast-paced world of design never stops turning, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for creatives. As…
Web Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 and Beyond
It hardly seems possible given the radical transformations we’ve seen over the last few decades, but the web design…
By Louise North
6 Best AI Productivity Apps in 2024
There’s no escaping it: if you want to be successful, you need to be productive. The more you work, the more you…
By Simon Sterne
3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024
From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to…
Surviving the Leap from College to Real-World Design
So, you’ve finished college and are ready to showcase your design skills to the world. This is a pivotal moment that…
By Simon Sterne
20 Mind-Bending Illusions That Will Make You Question Reality
Mind-bending videos. Divisive Images. Eye-straining visuals. This list of optical illusions has it all. Join us as we…
By Max Walton