Toggle is a verb that means to turn something on and off, like the way you switch between screens during video chats. As a noun it refers to a pin passed through the eye of a rope to hold it in place, and also to software switching functions, such as your Caps Lock or Num Lock keys. In web development, toggles are used to control the visibility of a piece of content. Toggles can hide or show an article’s content and can be manipulated with a click of the mouse or with keyboard shortcuts.

Feature Toggles are a powerful tool for developers but they can be confusing for users. To help avoid user confusion it is best to use Feature Toggles as a transitional tool and not for a permanent state. The longer a feature flag stays active the more likely it will cause cognitive issues. If the toggle is used for a long period of time it may even be mistaken for an ongoing feature. Savvy teams realize that Feature Toggle inventory comes with a carrying cost and are proactive about adding a task to remove a toggle to the team’s backlog when it is first introduced. Some teams even put “expiration dates” on their toggles to ensure that they are removed when no longer needed.

When a toggle is used as an ongoing state it should be labelled clearly so that users can understand what is happening. In addition to labelling, visual cues can also be added to help users understand which direction a toggle is currently pointing. For example, studies have shown that using a more pronounced/saturated color for the toggle button that is currently active increases performance in a 5-second test by attracting the user’s attention. However, if the toggle is not used as an ongoing state it should not be highlighted in any way.

Another problem with toggles is that they often don’t include any text on/off so users must rely on other visual cues to determine which side of the toggle they are looking at. This can be a confusing issue especially since research has shown that most users believe the right-most side of a toggle button is active when it is not.

Toggle is a simple yet powerful extension that lets you transform standard ordered (ol>) and unordered (ul>) lists created in the article editor into interactive collapsible sections that can be hidden and expanded by clicking the icon. The content inside each toggle can be anything from simple HTML to images, videos and article formatting styles. This allows publishers to focus on producing helpful and relevant content while still offering a richer browsing experience to their visitors. The extension can be activated by clicking on the icon in the presentation view of an article. Spoilers and dynamic content that load later will break the toggles. Toggle also supports the use of a toggle for an entire section or page so that you can control how your content is displayed to readers.