Designing Effective Carousels for Websites and Mobile Apps
Summary: Sliding hero images that rotate through a set of promotions, news, or the like on the top of web pages are often annoying to users and are definitely error prone, unless they are designed according to usability guidelines.
Carousels allow multiple pieces of content to occupy a single, coveted space. This may placate corporate infighting, but on large or small viewports, people often scroll past carousels. A static hero or integrating content in the UI may be better solutions. But if a carousel is your hero, good navigation and content can help make it effective.
Video Author
Kara Pernice is Senior Vice President at Nielsen Norman Group. Pernice pioneered UX research methods beginning in the early 1990's, and continues to evolve user-centered research methods and processes to best collaborate with organizations. She helps to improve their UX strategy, increase their UX maturity, and derive experiences that useful, simple, and surpass business goals. Pernice is accomplished at evaluating and managing design situations, and crafting with a team the most fitting research methods, and converting this analysis into insights and outstanding designs. She is the creator of NN/g's Intranet Design Annual and UX Certification Program.
