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View Full Version : Which do you prefer on mobile. Multiple pages, or the infinite scroll?



Harold Mansfield
08-20-2012, 12:59 PM
We've all been trained against the long sales page and to put as much information above the fold as possible. Now, with mobile search dominating, we need to find some kind of happy medium since it seems people on mobile devices, smart phones specifically, don't like constantly changing pages.


Not too long ago, users were forced to reload pages to progress from one piece of content to the next. Web designers were advised against creating websites with information appearing “below the fold”, the portion of the page underneath what is displayed on the screen. As mobile phones and tablets gained wider adoption, it looked like the swipe might become standard fare.

But that’s all changed now. Today, designers are dumping the click and flick and opting for the scroll for one simple reason – it works.

Source: Infinite Scroll: The Web (http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/18/infinite-scroll-the-webs-slot-machine/)

Which do you guys prefer when you are searching on your phone? And does that need to be different when you are on your desktop?

Business Attorney
08-20-2012, 02:37 PM
I prefer one long page IF everything is closely related and in a logical order. In other words, don't break a 1500 word article down into three 500 word pages. For what it's worth, I don't like that on a desktop either and if I get to the bottom of a page and it says " 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | View entire article" I will almost always click "View the entire" rather than "2".

On the other hand, there does need to be some happy medium. If the information is something you would need to scroll down quickly to find, jumping over large parts of the page entirely, then it is often better to have it on a separate page with a good navigation scheme. Scrolling up and down (and often past what you are looking for) is a pain.

cheryl
08-20-2012, 05:37 PM
My first proper post, hello!

For me, the infinite scroll is the favourite. It goes beyond ease of use. If I'm going somewhere where I won't be able to access a reliable WiFi connection or internet signal, it helps to have a whole page loading in one go. I can then close my browser down or go elsewhere and I'll have access to all the information I need on one page. Otherwise, I could load a page and realise that the information I need is elsewhere on the site, and not be able to get to it.

Of course, I'm willing to be forgiving to any site as long as it has nice, big graphical buttons. I'm tired of trying to select small text links on my phone.

I say all of this with complete hypocrisy - my mobile website has the same split pages as my main website, and text links rather than images.

billbenson
08-20-2012, 08:49 PM
I'm not a fan of a blog type of format on a pc. I'd rather have good navigation. I'm not really a mobile device user, but I think the longer page would be easier there.

Oh, but I do agree with David. Paging through an article is a pain.

MyITGuy
08-21-2012, 10:08 AM
I prefer one long page IF everything is closely related and in a logical order. In other words, don't break a 1500 word article down into three 500 word pages. For what it's worth, I don't like that on a desktop either and if I get to the bottom of a page and it says " 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | View entire article" I will almost always click "View the entire" rather than "2".

I agree with the "View the entire Article" for a few reasons:
1st - 3G/4G Services aren't everywhere, so clicking on the additional page links can take forever to load which means that I will just move on to another article.
2nd - I will occasionally load up multiple articles when I plan on traveling via air so I have something to read...with no data I wouldn't be able to read the additional pages
3rd - I realize that the additional pages is a method to generate additional hits and a means to display additional ads in order to increase their ad revenue and will do what I can to minimize my effect on this.

websonalized
08-30-2012, 03:59 PM
My preference is a longer page scroll as its easier to jump back up to other parts of the page if you need to go over something. Dealing with multiple pages on a small device can be abit frustrating.

Its already frustrating on a PC as it stands, lol

Serfaksan
09-11-2012, 04:50 PM
Depending on what the website is about, some websites work much better with multiple pages, some, work much better for the scroll.

J.Voelkel
09-17-2012, 04:20 PM
I dislike having to read an article over multiple pages even on my computer, especially on a mobile device. An infinite page is much easier to read and follow.