We need to talk about image sliders or carousels on websites.
Although they’re slowly disappearing from the website landscape, sliders still pop up fairly frequently. They’re very common on E-Commerce websites, as well as sites that try to share a lot (too much) information.
Thankfully, we don’t get too many requests from our clients to add image sliders to their websites. When we do, we politely explain why they’re not a great idea. I thought it would be fun to talk about that with you today in this email.
The main issue with image sliders is that they’re a poor delivery mechanism for content. When looking at how website visitors interact with content on a typical website, only around 1% will click on a slider.
A web slider provides a very poor user experience for a user browsing on a mobile device, such as their smartphone. It isn’t fun for them when they’re struggling to decipher or interact with the content.
It’s also important to point out here that sliders are a very bad choice for website accessibility.
A typical web slider features a series of images. These images will have some content - perhaps a headline and a sentence or two of text. They’re designed to encourage people to click on the image and learn more.
The problem with this type of technique is that it excludes any users who are visually impaired. Partially sighted users may struggle to see the content, whereas blind users use screen reader technology.
Screen readers don’t have the ability to decipher the text inside an image. This excludes a blind reader and makes them unable to use that section of your website. It’s very important to be aware of issues like this, as website accessibility is a topic that should be on your radar.
Finally, web sliders are bad for SEO and conversions. They slow down website loading speeds and can put users off of a website completely. If you’re looking to get more leads or sales through your website, adding an image slider could be one of the worst choices you make.
Instead of using a web slider, focus instead on having one clear message per page. That’s one call to action (CTA). One reason for a user to contact you, sign-up for your service or purchase your products.
Focusing on giving users a clearer message and ensuring that your website is accessible to everyone, will bring you better results.
P.S. If you'd like to talk more about optimizing your business website, please schedule a call with me. You can book a call at a time and date that suits you on my calendar here. Book a meeting with me.
