The Pros (And Cons) of Parallax Scrolling

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Parallax Scrolling

Today, enterprises seeking web design service of a talented Web Design Agency sometimes request trendy parallax scrolling. Many excellent reasons underlie this preference. Yet just like other website design techniques, this approach may not serve every website or every client. Parallax scrolling offers both advantages and disadvantages.

Parallax Scrolling: A Quick Definition

The chances remain excellent if you play video games when you connect with the Internet, you’ve already viewed websites employing parallax scrolling very effectively on multiple occasions. Some of the most elegant, well-designed sites employ this currently fashionable mechanism to interest visitors in their content. Technopedia defines “parallax scrolling” as a popular video gaming scrolling technique. It helps create an illusion of depth within a two-dimensional webpage.

Essentially, a design team relies upon a graphics display in which images in the foreground move more quickly during scrolling than background images. A viewer gains a sense of immersion within the Cyber environment. Parallax scrolling typically requires a visitor to scroll horizontally or vertically in order to move through this surreal landscape. Some sites featuring beautiful examples of this technique include www.makeyourmoneymatter.org, and www.koox.co.uk.com .

Pros And Cons

Whether a web page would benefit from the use of parallax scrolling arguably hinges upon a number of factors. This creative mechanism won’t necessarily optimize every site, although it certainly will assist others. Consider some of the pros (and cons) of parallax scrolling as a web design tool:

Advantages

For sites seeking one-time visitors or struggling to introduce the public to new brands or locales, parallax scrolling offers some important benefits. It supplies some useful advantages:

  1. Create a Sense of Involvement And Immersion: By creating an illusion of three-dimensional space, parallax scrolling encourages visitors to focus intently on the webpage.
  2. Showcase Illustrations And Photographs More Effectively: Design teams use parallax scrolling very effectively to highlight eye-catching graphics.
  3. Require Active Visitor Participation in Order to Explore Your Website: The need to scroll to move through the website forces visitors to actively commit to exploring the site. Essentially, it demands input. This process may increase the time a visitor spends on the site during an initial visit.
  4. Create Favorable Brand First Impressions: By showcasing visual elements, parallax scrolling promotes effective branding. It facilitates first impressions about places, events, or products.

Disadvantages

Parallax scrolling won’t suit every website or every visitor. Some disadvantages include:

  1. Parallax Scrolling Won’t Maintain The Interest of Returning Visitors Indefinitely: The stunning graphic qualities of parallax scrolling lend visual interest to web pages. Yet sites seeking to cultivate a loyal following may discover alternate page layouts work much better over the long term. Many returning visitors lack the patience to scroll through a site repeatedly reviewing the same content. This type of scrolling fits a “billboard” style landing page much better than it does a fully interactive commercial home page.
  2. Parallax Scrolling Won’t Suit Many Seniors: Today, Gen X and Gen Y visitors often possess an intuitive sense of Internet navigation. Familiar with video gaming technologies, they readily embrace parallax scrolling. Site visitors from the graying Baby Boomer demographic (and other seniors) won’t necessarily adapt to this scrolling technique readily.
  3. Budget Considerations: Parallax scrolling reportedly works well on mobile device platforms today, yet it does sometimes increase loading times significantly. In some cases, this problem contributes to disappointing SEO results.

A Useful Targeted Web Design Tool

Parallax scrolling enjoys trendiness today. Yet web design teams need to consider all of its pros and cons before implementing it on commercial sites. While it offers remarkable value in some cases, it won’t fit the needs of every website. A skilled Atlanta Web Designer offers assistance in evaluating the use of this technique.

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As co-founder, Jim brings his vast creative design skills and project management abilities to the firm. Creating beautiful AND functional web solutions for every client is Jim’s #1 Priority. He manages the creative and development teams and oversees support services to ensure total client satisfaction.
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