Toggle is a user-interface pattern that lets people update preferences, settings, and other types of information by choosing between two opposing states. When using toggles, it’s important to clearly communicate the effect of each state to users through direct labels and standard visual design. This is especially important because toggles can be hard for users to read when they are positioned in a corner or hidden from view. Toggle switches can also be confusing when they change state without a clear indication that the change has taken place.
Toggles are a great choice for features that are intended to be temporary. They can help us evaluate the impact of changes in our product before introducing them to a wider audience by running an experiment on a small cohort of users. Toggles are especially useful for testing things like:
The toggle feature is an incredibly versatile tool, and can be used in a variety of experiments to see how a design will perform. However, it’s also important to keep in mind the limitations of this type of experimentation.
Toggles are typically short-lived (although they can be used for longer durations), but they are a powerful tool for making data-driven optimizations. Toggle routes can be used to compare different code paths by assigning each user to one or the other and then tracking their behavioral responses. This is a form of multivariate or A/B testing that is often used to test the effectiveness of Call To Action language, purchase flows in ecommerce systems and other customer experience metrics.