A toggle is a switch that allows users to change between different modes or states. Toggles are commonly found in everyday technology, such as computers and smartphones, to enable or disable WiFi and Bluetooth functionality, or to allow users to change their display preferences. They are also used in programming, where they can be used to switch between different display modes or features.
A visual signifier for a toggle is a solid color that changes to indicate its state, and text that provides a clear description of the current status. In the design of user interfaces, it’s important to keep in mind that toggle switches require careful consideration, as they can be difficult for users to understand when not implemented clearly.
When implementing toggles, it’s also important to consider the context of their use. For example, when designing a toggle that will be used to change display settings, it’s critical that the visual design is consistent with other similar settings to make it easy for users to navigate and understand. Additionally, the toggling effect should be clear and immediate in order to deliver the desired user experience.
Toggles are also used in software development to support the implementation of multivariate and A/B testing. In these types of tests, users are split into different cohorts, and at runtime the Toggle Router will consistently send each of them down one codepath or another, based upon their cohort. By tracking the behavior of each cohort, the results can be analyzed and compared to determine which codepath performs best. This can be used to improve everything from the purchase flow in an ecommerce system, to the wording of Call To Action buttons.
Another important consideration when designing a toggle is to ensure that it’s properly named. Ideally, each toggle will be named such that it’s obvious to someone on any team what its purpose is and how long it has existed in the codebase. This will help prevent the performance impact of too many toggles in production, which can drive up database queries that might not be necessary for the application.
In general, it’s good practice to clean up toggles quickly and never let them persist in the codebase for too long, so that they can be rolled back if needed without affecting any production functionality. This is often referred to as a “canary release” in the software engineering community and is modeled after the use of canaries in mining mines to detect toxic gases.
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