7.8 Interactions

Replacing infinite scroll

Infinite scroll means the page can be scrolled down indefinitely, which increases time spent on it and therefore the weight and expended resources for that page. This mechanism is used in captology to capture user attention as much as possible. Article 20 of a 2019 French Senate bill (PDF) (French) had a measure calling for a ban on this technique.

So the idea is to replace infinite scrolling with an action, by introducing pagination, or a "see more" button.

It is also important to consider what the right number of elements to be displayed by default should be. If too many clicks are necessary for users to find the desired result it can lead to frustration. Finding the right balance is essential!

In addition, all manipulative or dark pattern mechanisms that could lead to a disproportionate increase in the use of the digital service should be proscribed: autoplaying next video, hidden ads that disrupt the user journey, gamification processes like streaks on Duolingo and Snapchat, etc.

Avoiding autocomplete features

Features that aim to autocomplete searches or provide "intelligent" suggestions require a lot of server queries.

Generally speaking, it is best to avoid these features, and instead use other existing support methods (examples, input format, etc.). If the use of autocomplete or suggestion features is relevant in your context, then it is possible to limit them, for instance by offering suggestions only after three typed characters and activating only after 500 ms.

Rethinking notifications

Between keeping users informed and pestering them with notifications, the boundary can be rather tenuous. Much like before, eco-design and ethical design agree on the approach to implement. It is mostly about questioning our design habits and examining whether these notifications are truly useful and their frequency valid.

Some leads to pursue:

• Think about different notifications formats based on how urgent they are.
• Allow users to personalize when, how and from whom they receive notifications.
• Offer SMS notifications instead of email.
• Avoid unnecessary confirmation emails (e.g. when unsubscribing for a newsletter).
• Replacing a toast notification with a change of state. For instance, a toast notification mentioning that a new element has been created could simply be replaced with a :focus state on the new element.