Story 4: Scrolling vs. Paging

Scrolling v. Paging Web sites: Lessons Learned at IMA is an article designed to inform website designers on the advantages and disadvantages of formatting web pages with or without a scroll bar.  Designing a site without the scroll bar is called paging because at the bottom of each page, the user must CLICK a link to open a new page and continue reading. 

There are a lot of disadvantages to this format but it is done by many web designers non-the-less. 

Pros of paging:

• Gives the page elegance
• User is able to read all the information on one page
• Pages without scroll bars look neater
• Pages without scroll bars are able to incorporate Flash

Two of the main disadvantages of the paging format, however, are that the user must wait for each page to load.  This is especially troublesome for users without high speed internet.  Another disadvantage is that the paging format tends to create a headache for designers, as it is more difficult to edit and design the pages all together.

Even with these disadvantages, research shows that users prefer the paging format over scrolling like designers use at IMA. 

The advantage of scrolling pages is that one page can hold an endless amount of information; however, designers should be careful not to overload a page.  Generally the rule is to not place more than three screens worth of material on a single scroll page.  Ultimately, it is the web designer’s decision, but according to this article, it is a decision that should not be over-looked.