Points To Ponder About Scrolling When Viewing Webpages

A website designer who works at a large firm recently shared with the community that they have a hard time convincing their colleagues at work that users know how to scroll. The person's colleagues argue that people with mobility or low vision issues may not know how to scroll or may not be able to scroll through the content on a page. The original poster's side of the argument is that users do know how to scroll. The second part of their argument is that the web is fluid, and the shape and size of an image or block of text will change based on the size and shape of the user's screen.

One person replied with a statement that they have had this argument at their workplace, too. They stated that in general, users will scroll if they have a reason to do so. If the user perceives a low value of the site or is not engaged with it at their first point of contact, they may not scroll. This person also made the point that while the web is fluid, images need to make an impact without requiring the user to do any work.

Another person wrote back wondering if the original poster's coworkers ever use any of the major social media platforms. Instagram is one that relies on scrolling. Even the desktop version of it requires scrolling. This person pointed out that desktop and laptop users have had to scroll through content for decades, so even people who are new to mobile devices should be familiar with the need to scroll through content.

Multiple people pointed out that the argument of the original poster's coworkers tends to be a common one among stakeholders who are not web designers and who are not very technically savvy. The points in favor of this included the fact that all of the social media platforms require users to scroll immediately, regardless of how they access the platform or which browser or operating system they use. Most people agreed with the original poster, but few of them touched on the accessibility. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/cd72dy/convincing_stakeholders_that_people_scroll_on_the/.