A toggle is a switch that can be flipped in one direction or the other to turn something on and off. Toggles are commonly found on electronic devices such as computers, tablets, and mobile phones, but they can also be used in software applications and hardware controls like switches for doors and windows.
The Toggle plugin allows WordPress users to create beautiful switchers that allow visitors to view different content or blocks with a click. The plugin comes with a variety of presets for both vertical and horizontal toggles. Adding content to the Toggle bar is simple. First, select the block you want to add content to. Then, drag the Toggle button into position above or below your selected block. Once your content is in place, you can change the default text on the toggle button by clicking the ‘Edit Button Text’ icon or using the keyboard shortcut.
When you’re done, press ‘Publish’ to make your toggle live. Toggle is compatible with all WordPress themes and can be added to any page, post or widget. However, it’s best to use the Toggle button on the side of your article where you want to display content, as this will give the most visibility.
Toggle is an easy-to-use tool for managing the visibility of content in your articles. By checking the toggle box next to each piece of content you wish to hide, you can enable or disable it at a moment’s notice without even editing the article. Visibility toggles are not foolproof — anyone with knowledge of HTML and CSS can still inspect the source code to see whether an article’s hidden content has been hidden properly. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you use the toggle button in conjunction with other tools for hiding content, such as subscriber group containers and hidden comments.
It’s important to test any toggle configuration that you expect to go into production. This typically includes testing any toggles that you plan to release with flipped On and testing any fallback configuration that would be enabled by those toggles if flipped Off. Additionally, many savvy teams also add a task on their backlogs for removing any toggles that are no longer in use. Some teams even put expiration dates on their toggles that will cause a test to fail if a toggle is left in place beyond the date specified.
Ultimately, the decision to include or exclude any given toggle should be driven by the needs of your audience and the goals of your project. In general, the more specific a feature flag is and the more it impacts the behavior of a product, the more carefully you should consider if and when to use a toggle. To minimize confusion, toggles should be accompanied by clear and concise labels that clearly identify the setting, view or content that the toggle affects. Ideally, toggles should look more like sliders and utilize visual cues to convey their current state so that users can understand what they’re switching between.