Sliders and carousels were a design trend a few years ago. You will find it increasingly difficult to find a blog that does not offer them today.

But something has changed. Designers and developers have started to move away from sliders for static imaging. As the interest in minimalist designs and websites with long scrolling grew, sliding banners became a perceived distraction and threat to super simple design.

And if the designers had chosen to apply motion to a website, it would be in parallax scrolling, animated icons, or on a video player.

Still, there are a few designers who argue that sliders and carousels are effective design elements that help improve user engagement, when used correctly. We're going to explore the validity of that argument today and give you tips and tools you can use to ensure user engagement on your WordPress blog.

Do we really have to use them?

For many designers looking for simplicity right now, it can be difficult for them to understand how the rotating content can be inserted in an ideal way.

Drawbacks

Here are some of the most common arguments about caroussels:

• Slow loading: Adding sliders and carousels slows down the loading time of a website, which can turn off visitors.
• Bad for the SEO : Since so much content is crammed into a single slider, it is difficult to optimize the page and SEO for all that content.
• Unnecessary Distraction: Cursor rotation keeps visitors distracted from the content around it.
• Difficult to use : Multiple slides give visitors too many options to follow and often require too much effort, making it difficult to access the data they are looking for.
• UX interrupts: For visitors who prefer fast vertical scrolling of the content, the sliders can influence their patience, as they must sit and wait for each slide "Scrolls.
• Poor Clickthrough rate: According to some studies, sliders are ineffective in the interaction it seeks (clicks). While visitors may be interested in reading one or maybe even a few slides, most take no action.
• unsightly : Many designers think that " Sliders » and carousels are ugly, especially when used to promote forward-looking advertising images and messages.

Benefits

Now, let's take a look at the arguments of the slider supporters:

• Space saver : Carousels can display a lot of information in a small space.
• Reduce clutter : For some sites, it's important to showcase different products, samples, team members, and more. Sliders can reduce the clutter that mobile users suffer from.
• Draws attention Adding movement to the slider can help attract the attention of visitors.
• Provided with perspectives : Some websites have a product or service that needs to be highlighted from different angles. A good example of this case is a phone retailer who wants to display a number of images of their mobile devices from multiple perspectives.

6 methods that will help you add sliders / carousels to your blog

Your website is designed to function properly. This is why many of the concerns of anti-cursors are valid. If you're using a slider for the sake of appeasing a client just because they really want one or because you just haven't taken the time to research the tips and tools to use it well, you could end up putting your website performance at risk.

If user engagement is what you are looking for, then user experience should always be on your mind during development. So when adding a slider to your website keep the following tips in mind:

# 1: Optimize Placement

When "sliders" are highlighted, they are at the very top of the home page, where most designers currently place important images. As a WordPress developer, you know that there are other areas of the site that have the potential to make good use of sliding content.

# 2: Think about the size

Do you need to include a full width slider or will it take up unnecessary space? Always consider the purpose of the slider, the size of the images inside, and the balance it can create with the rest of the elements on a page in order to determine what will be its optimal size.

# 3: Use important content in your sliders

Your visitors want to see content that is of value to them. Make sure the images and content used in your slider reinforce your site's mission and motivate visitors to view it in its entirety.

# 4: Select high resolution images

In general, it is bad practice to use low resolution or poor quality images on your website. The same should apply to a “slider” or a carousel, especially since the impact of these elements depends on the photos included in them.

# 5: Keep the text to a minimum

Sliders and carousels are fantastic for displaying images, but the text can undermine this experience. Overloaded images can often make it difficult to read texts that are superimposed on them. In addition, if a cursor turns too fast, visitors will not have enough time to read it. But also, you should also consider that the text embedded in an image will probably not display properly on mobile. If possible, do not consider using texts, especially if they will affect quality.

# 6: Pay attention to scrolling

There are a number of methods you can use to control scrolling. The decision to choose one or the other usually depends on the content in the " slider ". Auto-scrolling works great for single-frame sliders, as long as the scrolling doesn't go quickly. Your best bet may be to force the slide to stop as soon as someone clicks or hovers over the " slider ". It will then be up to them to define when they will want to continue scrolling.

What then should we do?

Our work is limited to presenting things to you so that you can make a decision and choose what is right for your blog. Personally I use Sliders, but I make sure to optimize both images and content, in order to make the most of them.

What do you use at home? Do you have a preference ? Don't hesitate to share with us.