UX Advice - Scrolling is Good

I have seen a slew of sites that attempt to achieve a one-screen effect where there is a dashboard view of all the content. Rather than having users scroll, these sites encourage users to click to explore new content. This is bad, very bad especially for a site rich with information. My advice: if you have a lot of content, let people scroll.

1. Scrolling is fast
The best equivalent of scanning a newspaper on a computer is being able to scrub or scroll up/down a page.

2. Scrolling does not punish, it is a forgiving behavior
When you click something, it takes you to a new destination. For some that experience can be scary and for others the time to load a new page is just not worth it. Don’t punish the user and make him use the back button.

3. Trying to change the habits of someone will make them run away
No one wants to learn something new. When a site doesn’t need a scroll bar or have a recognizable interface to navigate, a user begins to slow down and think about their experience.

4. We scroll all the time, so leave it that way
Every kind of site requires you to scroll: news on MSNBC, stocks on Yahoo Finance, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp. Your applications even require you to scroll: Excel, Word, TextMate, Quicken. People are very used to scanning a large space for the information they need. If it is organized visually their experience can be pleasant.

Find a way to make scrolling work for your experience. Do everything you can to ensure that elements on your page are easily recognizable. Using good typography and vibrant images can help attract the eye where it needs to go. Using common elements across pages will help too!

This tip is for anyone creating a site with extensive content. If you are creating a site for a ad campaign, portfolio, or some creative experiment, this does not apply!