Infinite Scrolling: A Passing Trend Or A New Standard?

It’s a social media world and all of us are just living in it. Whether it’s memes, sponsored content, or video promotions – social media is not only changing, but dictating the way companies market themselves to consumers. This also changes the way companies design websites to showcase products, services, etc. Over the years, websites have started to look more and more like extensions of social media platforms – and vice versa. One of the most prevalent qualities web design has drawn from social media is the concept of the infinite scroll.

One of the biggest perks of an infinite scroll page is that it constantly engages the user. Rather than sit on a stagnant page and search for content, the infinite scroll page prompts the user to continuously scroll and explore the rest of the website. It also takes out the necessity for the user to select a specific path to follow. The infinity scroll welcomes the aimless wanderers and curious explorers by taking out the forks in the road. Not only does this allow for more flexibility with content, but also with design.

It’s simple to scale down infinite-scroll sites to remain compatible with different mobile devices, such as a tablet or phone. This translates effectively to the user, considering scrolling with our thumbs is now second nature to most. Even on a small screen, an infinite scroll has the ability to come across as an endless well of designed content. It’s in the interest of the user to find the bottom of the well, while simultaneously absorbing the content.

From a web design standpoint, infinite scrolls are a useful tool when it comes to organizing and displaying content. However, we must ask the question: Is the infinite scroll page just another passing trend or is it here to stay? As the history of web design has showed us, it’s easy to assume the former. Either way, we’re excited to see the continued possibilities that infinite scrolling has to offer as time progresses.