Pagination is dead!

Why did pagination become such a widespread pattern? My guess is that it was a technical issue: load times and limiting traffic.

Categorized in: pagination

In the earlier days of the web, page sizes was limited

OK, so we need some sort of grouping

Pagination is overrated due to two reasons:

  1. From the world of content to the world of navigation. Every time the user needs to use pagination to view more stories, he or she is pulled from the world of content to the world of navigation. The user is then no longer thinking about what stories they should read, but about how to find more to read. Using pagination creates a natural pause that lets the user reevaluate if he or she wants to keep going or leave the site.
  2. Pagination numbers have no meaning. What does page 2, 3, or 4 mean? It’s an abstract construction without root in anything real. For the user, being on page 2, 3, or 4 only indicates the inability to find anything interesting on page 1. Being on page 4 is a reminder of a lengthy website visit without finding anything of value. Instead, find a meaningful way to group articles: by week, month, year, category, tag, or by alphabet. Long lists are not a problem if they are scannable.

About the author

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Anders Toxboe builds websites with an outstanding team at Benjamin Interactive in Copenhagen, Denmark. He also founded UI-Patterns.com and a series of other projects.

Published on 23 Feb, 2010
dirty.r dirty.r
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