Is Parallax Scrolling an Effective Web Design Trend

Parallax scrolling is a web design technique that focuses only on a single page where the background of the web page moves or scrolls slower than the foreground, creating an impression of 3D effect as you scroll down the page or sideways. In a simplified term, it is a scrolling site which allows web elements— images and contents— to scroll at a different pace to create an impression of depth.

Has been around since 1982, parallax scrolling was first popularized by 2D video games such as Moon Patrol and Jungle Hunt. The idea is to create an illusion that objects seem farther away from the screen. In 2011 though, web development companies have started taking advantage of the power of parallax websites using HTML5 and CSS3.

While it’s a very cool web design trend, parallax scrolling has a proper way of execution to become effective. Like all web design techniques, the most important end result is to produce an excellent user experience. Failure to do so will dramatically decrease the quality of a site. In today’s technology, web designers and developers are constantly searching for new techniques that will greatly improve user experience, exploring new ways to transform websites into becoming more appealing and attractive to users. Howevr, whatever web design technique you are using, as a business owner, your main goal is to create an effective and efficient website.

But what are the things to consider before you proceed to a Parallax Scrolling site?

1. DesignLike any website development, design conceptualization is the first step in creating a website. Designers brainstorm and do research on a single concept. Together with the writers, both collaborate to produce a coherent and sensible design layout. Because parallax scrolling is focusing on a single web page, it is important the each design element and each content work well together and should make sense.
2. SEOUnfortunately, most parallax scrolling sites are not SEO-friendly. Because you only focus on a single web page, parallax design is hard to optimize. It requires website owners to take advantage of rich keywords and spread them all over the page to fully maximize their potential. In addition, inbound links won’t be able to target a specific page on your site because you only have one page site. 

   While this is a disadvantage, you can always utilize JQuery. It’s a cross-platform open software that allows for easy navigation of documents. Using jQuery allows for effects such as fade, slide, bounce, wipe, and many more on your website.

   Search engines crawl website content to scrutinize its relevance and importance to users. The problem with parallax sites is that Googlebot that crawls each web page won’t be able to scan all content in parallax site especially if there’s a heavy long scrolling involved. With jQuery, you can make your site a little bit more seo-friendly using various elements of the software.

3. NavigationIt’s been said that most people hate long scrolling. It used to be a good practice to keep important website elements and information “above the fold” to eliminate the necessity to scroll down. In the past, web developers were encouraged to developed sites in this way to accommodate an excellent user experience. In today’s technology, though, increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets opened the door for scrolling effect. It’s important to note that navigation should be kept simple and important information should be introduced earlier in the website.
4. Loading time/speedIt’s important to note that parallax scrolling site takes a lot of time to load. Because of heavy graphics and animation, loading time of parallax sites is heavily affected. With this, consumers might leave your site, driving a decrease in your conversion rates. While this is a downside, you can still significantly improve your site through your design concept and compelling copies.
5. Responsive siteUnfortunately, parallax sites don’t favor mobile devices. Viewing a parallax site on your mobiles won’t have the same effect as when you view them on your desktop. The designs fall flat, leaving the overall website layout ineffective. Because mobile users are generally growing rapidly, the parallax design might not be advisable for mobile users.
   

   But when do you use a parallax scrolling site?

6. A Parallax Scrolling site is great for story-telling.Having a single web page design is easy to look at especially when you are narrating. Because online users normally read scrolling down, a parallax site would be efficient when you want to tell your a story.But, like all stories, you have to have a concept. Creating a concept is one of the hardest things to pull off when it comes to crafting an effective parallax scrolling site. It takes time and research. It’s important to note that without a great concept, however cool your web design is, the overall website layout won’t be very effective. The design and content must always correlate with each other and must make sense.

   This technique is also very efficient because designers’ creativity is displayed extensively using creative images, animations, and web elements. Because huge chunks of texts and plain images are no longer accepted as effective design elements, utilizing parallax scrolling design becomes efficient and brings in great visual impact for user experience.

   Because this technique heavily relies on animations and graphics, designers exert much effort on crafting powerful designs built to grab the users’ attention. Failure to produce creative and cool designs will result in ineffective website. And because users expect to be wowed with the designs, images and design elements must be in high definition.

   One great example of a parallax site that tells an amazing story is, Dangers of Fracking. Notice how the site is able to turn technical, serious type of procedure into something comprehensible, fun, and easy to digest web presentation.

   To fully utilize this advantage, make sure you and your team have a great concept with a single idea. Designers and content writers must communicate constantly with each other to produce a seamless design that both have the elements of a good design and compelling content.

7. A Parallax Scrolling site is great when you want to unveil something new perhaps a new product or a new service.A parallax scrolling site itself is already interactive and engaging. To add more value to it, like anything new, it must pique your users’ curiosity. One popular technique to tickle your customers’ interest is the CURVE technique. While it applies mainly to headline creation, it’s also effective at catching customers’ interest. CURVE stands for Curiosity, Urgency, Relevancy, Value, and Emotion.If you have a great content paired with a great design, users are more interested to find out what’s in the store for them as they scroll down your site. Curiosity is a powerful tool that will greatly impact the users’ decision whether they want to continue browsing through your site or not. But how can you actually tickle their bones? It’s been said that people are not curious about things they already know. Users are interested to find out more about something they don’t know yet. To pique your online visitors’ curiosity, your content must be filled with surprises so users will be encouraged to scroll down even further. As mentioned above, a parallax scrolling website is great for storytelling. By crafting an engaging story, users will be exhilarated to find out more.

   Urgency is the second factor you would want to utilize. Through your calls to action, you can provide users a sense of urgency to act on your offer. Because some parallax scrolling sites are lengthy, you can equip your sites with engaging calls to action to entice customers to act even if they haven’t finished scrolling the entire site.

   Relevancy. Even if you have great designs and compelling contents, if they don’t correlate with each other, the overall site won’t be effective. How relevant are your web elements for the overall purpose of the site? For example, you are telling a story and in your designs the setting is in space, then you decide to add a pirate one of the characters. Pirates are found in the sea with their ships roaming the ocean. Relevancy is important when crafting any website. Each web element must have a purpose.

   The last factor is emotion. Because people rely on their emotions when making a decision, your website must speak the right emotion for your users whether you want them to laugh or cry. Through emotion, you can connect with your users.

   One example of a parallax scrolling site that highlights its product feature is from Fifty Three— a company that specializes in pencil stylus for iPad. Notice how seamless their product page is. On that part, the Pencil’s interior is peeled layer by layer and as you scroll down a simple descriptive text appears on the side of the pencil describing each component of the product.

   Another great example is Atlantis World Fare. Although it highlights trivia not product features, as you scroll down the page various trivia will appear on the side. With a cool looking design, highly engaging and interactive, the overall layout of the design gives an excellent user experience with an added bonus of fun facts.

8. A Parallax Scrolling site is a great way to encourage your visitors to spend more time your site.For business owners who have their company websites, their main goal is to keep their visitors online interested and take action on their offers. Because parallax scrolling is only a single web page, customers get motivated to scroll down even further to learn more about your company. You can take advantage of this by furnishing your site with interactive designs and engaging content.One example of a parallax site that was able to retain users for a longer period of time because of compelling designs and content is Spotify. Notice how engaging their designs are and how short and simple their texts are? Spotify is music streaming software that allows people to listen to different types of music. And their site is equipped with call to action buttons so users are engaged to take action.

While it has multiple advantages that can significantly improve your site’s efficiency, parallax scrolling sites also have their disadvantages.

As mentioned above, parallax scrolling sites suffer from SEO, they are not mobile, friendly, and their loading time is quite vry slow when a user visits the site. However, may webite oweners still benefit from it using its various advantages mentioned above.

To experience how powerful parallax sites are, here are some examples with interesting design elements paired with a great story:

1. Gameboy
   Gameboy is a popular game console back in the day. While it has been surpassed by most advanced game consoles today, it still was able to pull off a fun, creative, and engaging parallax design highlighting a famous game, known as Tetris. Notice how simple their design is, and how the design works well with the concept of Gameboy—old school yet powerful execution.
2. Lexus
   Lexus a luxury car manufacturer that offers high-quality cars with a hint of elegance and class. As evident in their parallax site, notice how web elements move seamlessly together and the execution of the each description how they move smoothly when the image gracefully appear as you scroll down.
3. Oakley
   Oakley parallax site is able to impact users using high-quality images that accentuate the overall website layout design. White spaces were cleverly used to bring out the best of each image and design element. Notice how content works well with each image. Highlighting their various products, the overall effect of the design is effective in terms of conveying information.</li

Conclusion

Parallax scrolling design can be effective if done properly. With a great concept, design elements, and compelling contents, the overall website layout can potentially capture your readers’ attention. While there are few things to consider such as SEO, website speed, responsive design, and navigation, parallax scrolling design can still bring huge impact in your conversion rates, inquiries, and customer relation especially when you are telling a story. While everything has its own advantages and disadvantages, weighing these pros and cons will significantly improve your decision.

Noting all these factors, do you think parallax scrolling design will greatly impact your business? What other elements, reasons, and hindrances can you think of that will benefit a parallax scrolling site? Comment your thoughts below!