Thoughts on Website Sliders or Carousels

Sliders, or carousels, were a recent topic of conversation with a few different clients and developers.

My recommendation is NOT to use sliders unless your clients absolutely require it. And if they do require it, you should find a way to make sure the sliders never work, so that they don’t end up with sliders. Because they do not work, and they’re not accessible.

#1 Reason: They slow down website load times.

I could post a series of articles about why else not to use them, and rant and rave about my own experiences, but I’ll just share the only analytics you need:

The typical click-through rate of a carousel is 1-3%. Of those the majority click on the 1st image. – @erunyon at #bdconf

If you need alternatives (hint: just use a nice image with a call to action), here is a good article: Slider Alternatives

On second thought, I will post two more links:

Yoast’s Opinion on Sliders
Should I Use a Carousel? (No!)

There’s my pro tip for the day.

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