A toggle is a control that lets users manage the state of content or a view. Typically, toggles use an interface icon to communicate what kind of action is taking place. They also tend to update their appearance based on the toggle’s current state. While toggles are great for simple actions that affect only one view, they’re not recommended for complex ones that require multiple choices. For those cases, radio buttons and checkboxes are a better choice.
Toggles are a powerful tool when used responsibly. They enable us to test different code paths and make data-driven decisions without impacting the live experience of our users. However, the ability to dynamically re-configure a feature flag at runtime can be a dangerous one when misused.
Whenever possible, teams should limit the number of toggles in their codebase and make sure to always test the expected toggle configuration when it goes into production. This will ensure that the existing behavior is enabled when the toggle is flipped On and that new or future behaviors are disabled when the toggle is flipped Off. This will help to avoid introducing regressions when changing a toggle configuration. Ideally, teams should also perform a subset of their tests with the toggles that they expect to be flipped Off in order to help verify that the fall-back behavior is still working properly.
Savvy teams understand that every Feature Toggle comes with a carrying cost in terms of the time and effort required to maintain it, so they try to keep the number of toggles as low as possible. To do this, they often add a task on the team’s backlog for toggling off a feature when it’s no longer needed and some even set “expiration dates” on their toggles that will fail a release test if not removed by a certain date.
When creating and using toggles it’s important to think about accessibility. Many toggles use color as a signifier of state and this can be a problem for some users, especially when the toggles are being used in combination with other controls that rely on color to convey meaning, such as checkboxes or radio buttons. It’s best to try and not rely on color alone as a signifier of state and instead use visual cues like movement or positioning to convey meaning.
Toggles are a great way to hide or show content in your articles without having to edit the article itself, but be aware that the hidden content will still be visible to anyone who knows how to inspect the source code of an HTML page (including search engines). To minimize this possibility, you can use Subscriber Group containers which allow you to control visibility at the world level rather than at the article level.
