When to Use Infinite Scroll, Load More Button or Pagination
Infinite scroll or load more button? Let’s find out.
Some SEO people might tell you that infinite scroll is really good for Google ratings as it increases time spent on a page. Other SEO people will argue that Google robots can’t recreate users’ behavior and don’t “see” that the page is so long. The truth is somewhere in the middle.⠀
In my opinion, infinite scroll is appropriate where it belongs – on social media. Regular websites should use it very carefully and in combination with navigation controls, namely load more buttons and pagination.
If you’re tempted to use infinite scroll, set a certain number of posts that are loaded automatically and conclude them with a load more button.
While load more button is a gesture of basic courtesy, pagination tells the user how far they got and gives them a way to go back. Ajax-powered load more buttons might not increase search rankings but improve user satisfaction.
Overall, it’s a good habit to accompany long scrolls with visual cues showing how long the scroll is. Be creative with that: use bulleted menus, progress bars, arrows and other graphic elements to show the user where they should go.
Cheers to user-friendly infinite scrolls and engaged customers!
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