A toggle is a button or switch that allows users to flip between two possible states, such as on and off. They are commonly used in everyday technology, computing, and programming to provide quick access to settings or options that can be quickly changed. In web development, toggles are often implemented to allow users to choose between different themes for the application, allowing them to optimize the interface for readability or aesthetics.
A popular example of a toggle is the option to turn off the display of recently sent messages in a chat application. This allows users to control which information they want to be displayed and keeps the chat experience clean and organized. However, toggling isn’t just about turning things on and off, it can also be used to animate, or change the state of an object over time. Toggling can be done using animation, which allows designers to create an interesting effect that will capture the user’s attention.
How do you use a Toggle?
Toggles are designed to be used with other components, such as dropdowns and radio buttons. They can also be used in forms to help with navigation and page layouts. Toggles can also be implemented in responsive designs to allow the user to select between multiple options based on their screen size and device. A toggle can be used to enable or disable features, such as location services and Bluetooth, or to provide a different layout based on device type or screen size.
While toggles can be a great way to provide user with a simple and effective alternative to complex settings, it is important for teams to consider the cognitive costs associated with them. Users may find it confusing when the same toggle switch can have different meanings depending on which side it is pushed. For example, a toggle with the label on the left may be understood to mean “no cookies” while the right-hand side of the same toggle might be understandable as meaning “cookies”.
Another issue is that when using a toggle if the code for it needs to be fetched from a database, this can impact frontend performance significantly. Savvy teams will therefore try to limit the number of toggles in their codebase and will ensure they are proactively removed from production once they are no longer needed. Some teams will even set “expiration dates” on their toggles to ensure they are not causing any unwanted side effects in production.
In addition to the above, a key consideration for teams when creating a toggle is that it must be clearly labeled as such. This can be done with a clear icon or by including the word toggle within the component. It is also a good idea to make the toggle active on an initial page load, as this can help to inform the user that they are in a toggle state. Small toggles are more compact in size and can be used in places where space is restricted, such as in forms. Unlike the default toggle, small toggles don’t require a label text or a state text to be displayed.
