Using Sliders & Carousel Images to enhance the Visuals and the Information Presentation has become a thing of the Past. They have lost 80% effectiveness of being placed at the Homepage, which is the door of your website.
Before telling our intelligent readers the reasons of – ‘Why Carousels & Sliders have lost their effectiveness?’, let’s learn some Basics:
| Slider | Carousel |
| Sliders (or carousels) are popular features on homepages. The slider is a slideshow containing images, text, and videos that can automatically scroll or be scrolled through by visitors. | A website carousel or slider effectively displays a subset of multiple images from a collection in a cyclic view. It helps to save screen space and improves the overall visual appeal effectively. |
Despite a clear & concise definition of these terms, the contrast between these two terms seems to be quite vague. Don’t worry; you are at the right ‘Query-Satisfying-Page’.
Are Carousels & Sliders the SAME?
Though both have the same function – ‘To display the photos or other media in the form of slideshow that can be controlled automatically or manually.’ But the main difference is that: ‘With sliders, you can only display one slide at a time.’ But carousels permit the users to view multiple slides at a time.
| Myth | Facts |
| Sliders & Carousels can bring heavy conversions. | Sliders & Conversion can kill the conversions. |
Here arises the question: Why?
Why Have The Sliders & Carousels Lost Effectiveness?
But, the web design world is where the amendments & new concepts keep on getting introduced every hour. Nothing is static here.
To cut it short, we can blame the dynamic nature of the web world that sliders & carousels are no longer an important thing.
Psychological Reasons
There are some psychological reasons which prove that presenting information in the form of the sliders and carousels can kill your conversions:
Reason No. 1: The human eye can’t process the Moving Text
There are three layers present in our brain. One of its layers is similar to that of the reptiles. This layer is all about survival since if there is a sudden change, it may lead to death. Hence, human eyes tend to avoid the urge to see and focus on the moving text.
Reason No. 2: A User Will Invest Whole Energy Focusing On The Sliders & Will Avoid All Other Elements
It is a human tendency to become tired after continuous activity. Sliders will grab the maximum energy, and humans will find it difficult to focus on the other things after some time.
Reason 3: Our Mind Can Process Only One Thing At A Time
It has been seen that many site visitors do not opt up for clicking on CTA just because they suffer from banner blindness.
Banner Blindness: When a site visitor cannot focus on the banner and get convinced to give it a thought, it is called banner blindness.
Reason 4: Our Mind Wants One Message At A Time
The main motive of the carousel is to present a lot of information movingly in a single space.
It seems something like this to our mind:
Reason 5: Nobody Likes To Get Dominated
It is human nature to see themselves ruling, not slaving. The automatic carousels make things even worse.
So it can be said that the conversions on a website fall when you try to establish your authority.
Technical Reasons
Reason 6: Lowers the Page Load Time
Having multiple high-resolution images lowers the page load time. For example, one image is worth 2MB. Having six images in a carousel will sum up the image data to 12 MB. It will cause a delay in loading your Homepage.
Reason 7: Worsens the User Experience
Having too many images on the homepage makes the user experience worse. It isn’t good when we are considering the conversion scenario. The user tends to make purchases from the website, which allows them to enjoy a smooth user experience.
Next Question comes down which asks:
If The Sliders & Carousels Have Lost Their Effectiveness, Why Are They Still Used In Modern Websites?
There are two predominant reasons for that:
- It’s a ‘Cool Thing’
Well, it may sound cool. But can you be ready to compromise on conversions against aesthetics? I don’t think so! In today’s times, expert web designers call it orthodox instead of cool.
- To Show the Main Message on Homepage
The Business owners usually demand their message to appear at the front. But there can be various ways to accomplish that instead of using sliders.
Does This Mean That Image Sliders Can’t Be Used In Any Way?
No. Using Sliders & Carousels to display the important information on the Homepage is the wrong and ineffective way. But there are two reasons for which using the sliders will be the Best Choice:
No. 1: To showcase your Products
If you want to display the total products you are selling by avoiding mentioning the unnecessary details, then using carousels for that purpose will prove effective.
No. 2: Total Brands You Have Worked For
You have to mention the clients you have worked with within your portfolio. In that situation, presenting a carousel with all those brands you have worked for will be noted.
Is There Any Alternative To Using The Image Sliders & Carousels?
One can incorporate the gallery features or a spate portfolio page in which all the images you want to show the visitors will be there.
If your website really can’t afford to reduce the number of images, you must find an intelligent way to use them. You know what, I know one such way. What about ‘Using them as Thumbnailed Images’?
Final Comments!
We can’t say that the use of the Sliders & Carousels has become entirely ineffective. We need to be smart with their usage. Using them to give the primary information at the Homepage will not work. But using them for displaying the total products you have and the total number of clients you have worked for will work.
