On the new "slideshow" format we're occasionally using on the blog side ...

[Phil Nickinson]

Folks have been noticing (and asking about) the new slideshow format we've been using occasionally on the blog — here's an example — and I wanted to share a few thoughts here in hopes that we can keep the discussion from spamming the comments. (Futile, probably, but still worth trying.)

So, a few thoughts from my end:

• It's not (all) about page views: I get how it's easy to immediately think "PAGE VIEW GRAB!" when you see a slide show. That's because there are so many horrible ones out there. But the simple fact is what we're using now is about 100 times faster than any other page you'll load on Android Central. Go on, try it. It's a night-and-day experience.
• In fact, the page itself doesn't reload. Just the part you're reading. And the two ads, and the analytics tools so we can see if any of this is actually making a difference. (Spoiler: It is!)
• When you go from one page to another in this new format, it's a hell of a lot faster than scrolling down our laggy legacy pages.
• While we're definitely going to tweak the format and design for longer pieces, it's a nice way to section things out. And, again, you're not reloading the entire page when you go from one to another.
• A more sophisticated design. Period.

So what are we seeing? Folks are reading these a lot more than they did the old ones. The numbers don't lie. And the anecdotal experience lines up with that, I think. I get it when folks immediately say "I don't like it," but you're going to have to give me better feedback than that. Because the fact is it's a much faster, better-looking experience than our old crappy pagination.

That doesn't mean we're done. We'll continue to improve it and work on things. But I, for one, and happy and even excited about it. Faster pages? Amen. Better design? Hallelujah.

And we're just getting started ...

 

[anthonok]

As long as the option remains to NOT view it as a slide show I'm all for it.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[rcadden]

As long as there's an option somewhere to let me view it as a single page, you can do all the slideshows you want to.

 

[Michfan4837]

It makes sense to use the slide show format rather than separate, loadable pages for long articles, but the Nexus article appears to be a bad example. There is not a lot of content per slide. If the view all link wasn't there this format would grow tedious.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[84guy]

would be nice for if we are logged in, we could set it to default to view all, personally i keep my finger on the mouse wheel and prefer not to click a lot when viewing a single article. but as long as that view all stays, its not bad

 

[levelm]

I'm with everyone else: As long as there's an option to view it as one page, I'm happy. Personally, I can't stand slideshow articles or any article that I have to click multiple page links to read. Do I still read articles on websites that use this method? Yes --- But only when it's something I REALLY want to read. However, the majority of the time, if I see a small snippet of an article and then a "page 2" link, I just skip the article altogether. If it helps you guys make more money to force me to click through a slideshow to read an article, then no biggie, I can deal with it. Do I prefer it? No. I could care less if the page loads milliseconds faster. I prefer the convenience of having the article on one page and being able to scroll or use keyboard function keys such as Pg Up, End, etc. to navigate back and forth throughout areas of the article I'm looking to reread or reference. It's much more of an annoyance when there are multiple pages to skim through to try and find a snippet you're trying to reference. My 2 cents.

 

[wunderbar]

This is by no means exclusive to Android Central. My thoughts on this apply to every website on the internet.

Slideshow articles suck. I just don't like them as a UI concept. It lends itself to "listicles" which need to go away, yesterday. They force users to click too often to read more. If it is used for long form content it is a little better, but a picture with what amounts to caption underneath is not something I'm interested in looking at and clicking through, personally. I just think these templates and aritlce designs break up the content too much. I get that long pages of text are hard, but these feel too truncated, too small. I will fully admit I don't have the perfect answer or solution, but I'm not a fan of the way it is constructed currently.

The View all button helps, but then it feels like the template isn't really well formatted or suited to it. there is a huge amount of white space and it looks awful.



I appreciate that AC is trying new things, and I really do like the work that you do. And again, this is not something that it exclusive to you, but slideshow articles anywhere on the internet are not for me. I'm more likely to just close the tab when I open a link and it's a slideshow article than I am to read it.

 

[vividrich]

Not a fan of slideshows in general but this one is well done on desktop. I usually don't like them because they feel spammy.

Frankly I find it easier to scroll than keep going click click click, but that's me. The 'view all' button being so obvious is appreciated.

 

[yodatom10]

Never been a fan of slideshows never will be. As long as the view all button remains I'll be happy. Rather scroll down than have to click.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[MrJazz]

Same here - but that button seems to be getting more elusive.

 

[Kage_]

It would be nice to have a preference setting in our profile that would allow articles to default to the new view or view all on one page.

 

[edgar]

I do not agree that the slide show version is faster. If I click view all, it loads, I read, scroll, read, scroll. In slide show...I read, click, load content and new ads, read, click, load content and new add, read, click, repeat. It becomes tedious to keep clicking. It is awkward when the slide transition the page pushes up and the process restarts. Single page on the other hand is a smooth transition. On a single page I could also scroll back up to reread something or hit ctrl f to find a very specific piece...like ctrl f "battery"

Single page rocks and I am going to continue to use this option so long as you provide it. In slide show format, I will likely not read as much, skim, or totally skip

 

[erin crichton]

Specifically sought out a feedback thread just to say how much I despise the slideshow format ..tried it, hated it, tried again, hated it more. I now often just close the article if they come up in this format. It's awful on desktop and mobile. I'm finding it slow, I'm finding it inconvenient. It's evokes nothing but the worst of American webpage design and is a step backwards.
poor show

 

[James Falconer]

Thanks for the feedback, I'll take it to our design team.

Out of curiosity, how does it look in portrait mode on your Note 4?