4 Tips on Scroll Bar Usage

Scroll bar usage may seem like one of those boring web design topics, but it is actually an important one.  Website usability and scroll bars go hand in hand and we all know how important usability is.  So with that in mind let’s take a quick look at scroll bar implementation.

Horizontal Scrolling Is Not A Good Idea

When you design your website it’s best to stay away from horizontal scrolling.  Web browsers are not designed for left to right scrolling nor are users expecting it, plus mouse wheels can’t handle it either.  Do you know of any top websites that have horizontal scrolling?  Horizontal scrolling is bad for your visitors and the browser, so it’s best to avoid them.  By keeping your web page width at 785 or less you should avoid horizontal scrolling.

Some Like To Scroll & Some Don’t

Whether your visitors like to scroll or not is really a personal preference.  So the best advice is to give them a choice when you are designing a website.  By offering anchor text for your visitors, those who don’t like to scroll won’t have to and those that like scrolling will be able to.

Flash and Scroll Bars

Using flash on your scroll bars may seem like a cool thing to do, however it’s really a mistake.  Flash on scroll bars only decreases website usability, and usually increases frustration for your visitor.

Long Pages Need Scroll Bars

Most web users prefer using a scroll bar verses clicking a next button.  Web visitors usually aren’t very patient, so waiting for a page to load can be very frustrating.  So instead of making visitors click the next button and wait for another page to laod just let them use the scroll bar instead.