Should i use a carousel?

Carousels are the all the rage but are they ruining your website?

There is a website (ShouldIUseACarousel.com) which has got a lot of attention, is it right however in its assumption that you should never use a carousel / image slider?

Exploring the problem of carousels

Users often see them as advertising and they can be missed very easily
They are distracting when reading other content
In one test Only 1% clicked a feature and 89% of that was in the first position - why not have a single hero image????
Burden of seeing it’s a carousel and then learning it
They add to file size - the javascript, css and extra images increases page load time
Accessibility issues - users using only a keyboard
Dilute the main message given and can hide the story and important information
People read at different speeds

Why use them in the first place?

The benefit is that you can fit in a lot of information in a small space
Designers think they are cool (aaarrrrrhhhhh)
They are often a compromise of bickering organisations are departments who often want to the on the home page/ Remember what we said said earlier - 89% click on the first one

Bad use of a carousel / image slider

The website Created M is a bad example of slider usage. It has auto scroll on, has no navigation, no context in what or how many slides there are. It's distracting and useless.

When to use a carousel?

Showing off portfolio content - the user knows what to expect and a task is looking through the content
Photography / Real Estate - makes viewing easy and the images are related
Want users to grab a very important second message. This message must also be repeated on the site and not just in the carousel
Weather application - they expect the next days weather to show

Alternatives to Carousels?

Have no carousel and just use a single hero image. In 23 and Me they use a strong image, headline and call to action efficiently. No need for a fancy carousel.

The great thing about NOT using a carousel is Focus.

Ben Sherman

It would have been so easy for them to have a slider - but it’s all about focus and no distraction - my kind of design - effective and purposeful!

Alternatives to Carousels?

Make it smaller, most of the drawbacks occur but they can be clearer, present information well and still save space.

If you must use a carousel

Make navigation very clear, large with a thumbnail and text - giving user context and control
Never have core content in a carousel - articles - crucial pieces of information
If you absolutely must auto scroll it - 3 words per second
Minimal amounts of text
No more than 5 slides. Make absolutely sure every slide has earned it’s place to be there
Pause on hover
Don’t have contrasting Call To Actions - they must relate
Think if it hinders your site - if in doubt remove. - Test it

Rec Sports Looks integrated into site, Strong navigation, thumbnails + text, clear Call To Actions, no auto scroll and is a good example of a carousel if you must use one.