Layout space is precious, and designers always try to find ways to show enough information without overwhelming the user. Carousel is a popular interaction pattern that is used to showcase multiple pieces of content in a limited space.
To create an effective and user-friendly carousel, follow these 8 best practices:
1. Evaluate content needs
Before implementing a carousel, decide if it’s the best way to present your content. Many times, a static content section will perform much better for users than a carousel. The only reason to use a carousel is when you have a few items of the same nature with an equal (high) priority. For example, you want to show current product offerings in different departments of your eCommerce store.
2. Put the most important content on the first slide
People typically start to scroll shortly after they land on a new page. That’s why the majority of your users will see only the first slide in your carousel. Place the most critical or enticing item in the first position, as not all users will scroll through all items.
3. Avoid auto-rotating carousels
Carousels that rotate without user input can frustrate users who are trying to focus on content. If you use auto-rotation, ensure there’s an option to pause it. For example, pause rotation when the user is hovering over the current slide.
4. Limit the total number of slides
Too many slides can overwhelm users. Keep the total manageable (3–5 is often a good range).
5. Make navigation controls visible.
Include obvious and accessible navigation controls, like arrows, to allow users to move through the carousel at their own pace and dots to indicate how many slides are in the carousel and which one the user is currently viewing.
6. Optimize carousel for mobile
Adjusts carousel for smaller screens. Most of the time, it’s better to avoid using a carousel on mobile since it doesn’t provide a really good experience for mobile users. But if you still going to use it, you need to optimize content on your slides — show fewer items per slide on smaller screens to maintain legibility and usability.
7. Minimize content load times
Carousels are likely to be the first item that users encounter on your website. Carousel performance will shape the impression that users have about your website. A slow carousel will immediately make the user think that your website is not optimized. Use lazy loading for images or videos in the carousel to improve performance, especially for mobile users.
8. Prevent motion sickness
Keep rotation animations subtle to avoid overwhelming users who are sensitive to motion.
- Transition type: Use either sliding (Slides move horizontally, mimicking the feeling of turning a page) or fading (one slide fades out while the next fades in, creating a seamless and elegant effect).
- Curve: Avoid complex effects like bouncing, as they can be distracting.
- Duration: A typical duration is around 300ms. Animations longer than this may feel sluggish.
Want To Master Product Design?
Try Interaction Design Foundation. It offers online design courses that cover the entire spectrum of product design, from foundational to advanced level.
This post contains affiliate link(s)
Carousel Design Best Practices was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.