Whether used as an adjective or verb, toggle describes something that switches between two states, such as the screen you switch between when video chatting with multiple friends at once. The word is also used to refer to a rod or pin that is inserted transversely through an eye or loop in a chain, rope, etc. to bind it temporarily, as when using a toggle to hold a tent open in strong winds.
When it comes to feature flags, toggles allow engineering teams to experiment with new functionality without the risk of rolling out a full product release. This allows your team to validate how a new feature will be received by users in a controlled and predictable manner. Additionally, by placing a new feature behind a toggle you can roll back features easily in the event that they are not well-received.
One of the most common uses of toggles is for A/B testing. By placing a new test feature behind a toggle and then deploying it to production, you can split your audience into two cohorts. Each cohort is exposed to the experiment version of your product with either the toggle flipped ON or OFF. By analyzing the data from each cohort you can determine which version of your product performs best, and then move the toggle to ON for your entire audience.
Another way that toggles are useful is for testing the performance of different database architectures. By setting up a test environment with your current database and then switching the toggle to the alternate database, you can compare the performance of the two environments side-by-side. By doing this you can make informed decisions about which database to migrate to and improve the overall experience for your users.
Toggles are a powerful tool for your development arsenal, but it’s important to use them correctly. It’s best to limit the number of toggles you have on a single page, and be sure to keep the configuration of each toggle consistent across pages. This helps ensure that a user’s experience is similar on each page and reduces the amount of time it takes to complete tasks.
Lastly, it is essential to clearly label toggles. This includes both the text in the toggle and the visual cues used to indicate its state. For example, a toggle that looks like a slider should have a clear description of what it does (for example, “no cookies”). This will avoid confusion for users and prevent them from accidentally changing the toggle to a different configuration.
Lastly, you should always test with the toggles you plan to deploy in production flipped ON. This will allow you to see how the features will behave in the hands of your users and catch any bugs that may arise before they are rolled out to everyone. It’s also a good idea to test with the toggles you plan to release flipped OFF as well, so that you can avoid any surprise regressions in future releases.
