In everyday technology, toggles are used to switch a particular mode on or off. In software applications, they’re often used to enable or disable features, switch between different display modes, and allow users to customize their settings. Toggles are also found in interfaces for complex applications like mobile banking, where they’re used to show or hide various account details.
Toggle is the name of a type of interface control that’s been used in web design since the early 2000s. Unlike checkboxes, which have been in use for much longer, toggles look more like sliders and utilize visual cues (movement, color) to avoid confusion. This makes them a good choice for complex interfaces where the user is likely to make many decisions in quick succession, or where multiple options are competing for their attention.
A toggle can be activated by clicking, dragging or hovering over it. Some toggles have a label, which is usually displayed in the same color as the toggle itself, to clarify its purpose. The naming of a toggle is important — it’s a good idea to use a descriptive name that provides context about how the control works and what it does. It’s also a good idea to include the word toggle at the beginning of its name if possible, as this helps differentiate it from other controls on the page.
Despite their simplicity, toggles can be tricky to use well. They’re often asymmetrical, and it can be difficult to determine which side of the toggle is the active one. This is why it’s important to test them with users: a short, 5-second test will quickly reveal which half of the toggle draws the most attention and why.
As for the color of a toggle, it’s best to stick with high-contrast colors so that users can easily see whether a toggle is on or off. And while it’s tempting to add a third color as a “neutral” middle ground, the research shows that doing so actually increases error rates and decreases users’ confidence in their ability to make the right decision.
Another thing to keep in mind when designing a toggle is that it should be accessible to users with disabilities. Unfortunately, a lot of toggles are made inaccessible because developers don’t understand how to mark them up correctly. For example, using a toggle as a checkbox doesn’t work for users with screen readers because it’s impossible to tell whether or not it’s been checked.
For this reason, it’s generally better to use a toggle when the feature is intended to be long-lived and semi-permanent — this way you can minimize the risk of bugs and ensure that your code stays stable in production. Alternatively, you could consider using a feature flag instead if your feature is short-lived or temporary and doesn’t need to be stable in production. This will still let you take advantage of the benefits of a toggle but will allow you to use more flexible logging and monitoring to track errors.
