A toggle is a Web component that allows users to set one thing to be on and another to be off. It’s an extremely powerful tool that should be used with care to avoid confusing and obfuscating the user interface, but when done right, toggles can be a useful alternative to checkboxes and radio buttons.
A simple example of a toggle is a button that lets people choose whether they want to see an image or not. It’s a great way to minimize visual clutter and create a cleaner user experience.
The toggle is also commonly used for form elements that require the user to make a choice. For example, if a user doesn’t agree with a terms and conditions statement they can click the toggle to hide the statement.
Using toggles can help dev teams test new functionality with a smaller subset of their audience before rolling it out to all users. This can be especially valuable for product teams that have limited budgets or time constraints. It can also be a good way to get feedback from users about how they like a certain feature before making it available to everyone.
Toggles are also helpful for reducing risk during code deployment by serving as circuit breakers for your application. By allowing you to turn features on and off without altering your master code branch, they can help prevent unnecessary changes from being made to production. In addition, they can help support agile development practices by making it easier to merge and reconcile trunk changes.
There are a few things to keep in mind when designing toggles. First, always use high-contrast colors to signal state change. It’s a simple step that can make a big difference for users with color blindness or other vision issues. Also, make sure your toggles have descriptive labels to avoid confusion about their current state. Lastly, keep in mind that toggles can be difficult to read for users with motor or cognitive disabilities. Make sure you’re testing your toggles with users with these impairments to ensure they’re accessible.
Finally, be sure to regularly review and prune your collection of toggles. As the number of idle toggles grows, it can become a burden on your development team to manage. Tools like Kameleoon can allow your team to centrally store all feature flags in a single dashboard and remove them as soon as they’re no longer needed. This will reduce technical debt and keep your team focused on what matters most — shipping high-quality products.