Doing some testing on a news feed that automatically scrolls, results point to…let it scroll. A large client of mine has a scrolling news feed on their portal, and there were a few that thought the scrolling should just go. Here is what I found.
Watching Users
Watching users use it, there appeared to be no problems at all, as long as the had the option to control the scroll. A looping feed with no control resulted in frustration for the user, and actually, frustration for the guy watching them, me. Without the control the feed took nearly a minute to reload.
Watching them open links within the scroll revealed no problems, even when the links opened into a new windows (an internal IT and branding policy). Basically, users were savvy enough to control a mouse over moving text.
User Feedback
Giving the users to opportunity to submit their own suggestions, the scroll was not the issue. There were no complaints of eye strain or distractions. The only important factor was that they need to have scroll control. Without it, they suggested to eliminate the scrolling all together.
Another good piece of feedback received was what the perception of what scrolling text is. To the users, scrolling text means news. Not only does it mean news, it means new news.
Because this content was to give users a live feed to recent news, mission accomplished, and the scrolling stays. It was clearly news, and it was easy to use.
ariel (1)
Chris (1)
Curtis (1)
every project you need to test it. It think testing is part of web design methodogy
that kind of feed can be useful from the visitor point of view, but from the site owner point of view it can be a bit hard to mantain
Mhm, but what is the plus point for the user? I am quite not sure about it. Any time I see scrolling content it distracts me from the overall site. Maybe it is just me.
That’s why you have to test! Everything has its place. Scrolling text on BWI? no way…at least for now.
You add one bit of scrolling text and I will make sure personally that you get removed from running your website
It’s either scroll down or lengthen the formatting along the width of the page, which may inconvenience those with smaller displays. A flexible solution would be the best but very few sites pull this off successfully.
Till then,
Jean
It think testing is part of web design methodogy
We need to have scroll control.
Having scroll control makes a much better experience for the user.
I think you missed the point of the post.
Carlos