Toggle is a switch that allows people to change a state (for example, from ‘on’ to ‘off’). It enforces a mutually exclusive choice of states and helps to avoid cognitive problems (like having to select the same option multiple times, which is common with radio buttons and checkboxes). A toggle can be used in place of other interface components that do not support switching, such as lists or radio buttons. Toggles are especially useful for asynchronous user experiences like video chats, where the toggle switch can be used to manage the view of one or both participants.
Toggles have their own set of challenges, however, particularly when compared to other interface components such as radio buttons and checkboxes. Toggles require more coding because they must be managed as separate objects with their own set of attributes, and they often rely on color to communicate states to users. This can result in visual clutter and confusion if not designed well, as it can be difficult for users to understand the current state of a toggle when it is pressed. Depending on the colors chosen, they can also cause accessibility issues for some people (see WCAG guideline 1.4.1).
It is best to keep the number of toggles in an application low and limit their scope so that they do not impede other development work. It is also a good idea to regularly audit and prune idle toggles as part of a code cleanup process, so that technical debt does not accumulate.
The best way to avoid these kinds of problems is to use a clear, descriptive name for each toggle. This gives the developer and other teams a good understanding of what the toggle does, who created it, and how long it has been in the codebase. This also ensures that when an error is encountered, it provides a useful context about what to do next (for example, “This toggle should be enabled”).
Another way to improve the usability of a toggle is to use a clear and simple icon that represents its state (a checkmark or a cross). This reduces cognitive strain for users who must constantly read the status of the switch. It also helps to use color that is meaningful, both in terms of WCAG and cultural considerations, as some colors may have meaning for different cultures.
A common approach is to store the toggle configuration in static files. This works for small applications, but it becomes cumbersome at a certain scale, and managing changes across a fleet of servers is more difficult. In response, many companies choose to move toggle configuration into some type of centralized store, usually an existing application DB, and then build-out some form of admin UI for developers, testers and product managers to view and modify Toggle Configuration.
Toggles can make the development and release process much faster than it would be with more traditional waterfall models, allowing dev teams to create new features in code sprints that are hidden behind toggles until they are ready for production and testing. When they are, the feature is flipped on and can be pushed into production with minimal impact to existing code.
