Why Your Website Shouldn’t Have Sliders, and Alternatives to Them

Sliders (AKA carousels or rotators) have become incredibly popular on WordPress websites, and websites in general. Sliders commonly display images, but can also display text and video. They are frequently used on home pages, but can appear on any page. More often than not, clients ask us to put them on their sites. The problem is, research shows that sliders are generally much less effective than alternatives.

I read research conducted by several industry experts (linked below) who recommend against using sliders, and distilled their points into this post. I’ll explain

• why you shouldn’t use sliders on your website,
• alternatives you can use instead, and
• tips for if you simply must use a slider.
• • Sliders decrease conversions (for many of the following reasons)
  • People ignore sliders, often assuming them to be ads
  • People rarely click slides
  • Sliders can distract from important content
  • Sliders annoy people who can’t read the slides fast enough
  • Your message loses focus, because several slides vie for prominence
  • Sliders sometimes don’t work well on mobile devices
  • Sliders can slow down your site
  • Sliders can negatively affect SEO
  • Show a single, static message/offer in text, possibly complemented with static images
  • Show a single, static call to action (CTA) in text, possibly complemented with static images
  • Show an engaging video
  • On homepage, show main message/offer/CTA, and below it show other messages/offers/CTAs in static featured areas
  • If displaying photos, use static photo galleries
  Remember, even if you use “static” content, you can still change it regularly so that visitors see different content every week, month, etc. Or you could show static content that differs based on visitor if you’re doing A/B testing (split testing) or multivariate testing.
  • Use the same message/theme for all slides in the slider
  • Don’t automatically scroll; let people manually scroll
  • Use few slides (2-5)
  • Make navigation obvious and simple
  • Make sure it loads quickly
  • Make sure it’s mobile-friendly
  • Use simple transitions

  I admit that several of the sites we’ve created contain sliders, because clients requested them, and we didn’t try hard enough to persuade them not to. Based on this research, I hope you understand why we’ll be strongly advising against them from now on.

  What’s your take on sliders? Leave a comment.
  • Our themes don’t have sliders… Because sliders suck.
  • Auto-Forwarding Carousels and Accordions Annoy Users and Reduce Visibility
  • Carousel Interaction Stats
  • Rotating Offers – the Scourge of Home Page Design
  • The rise of the carousel
  • Don’t Use Automatic Image Sliders or Carousels, Ignore the Fad
  • Alternatives to Using a Slider for Better Home Page Conversions
  • Sliders Suck
  • Reconsidering the Slider
  • Homepage Sliders: Bad For SEO, Bad For Usability
  • Image Carousels – Why You Shouldn’t Use Them and How to Use Them the Right Way (If You Have To)
  • Information is Exciting