Carousel
A carousel (also known as a slideshow or image rotator) is a container that displays a series of content items — often images, text, or a combination of both — one at a time in a sequential, horizontally (or sometimes vertically) scrollable view. Users can navigate through the carousel by clicking on arrows, dots, or swiping (in touch-based interfaces).
Usage
Showcase Multiple Items: Carousels help save vertical space and let users browse a collection of items one by one (e.g., products, articles, images).
Highlight Key Messages: A carousel at the top of a page can cycle through headlines or features without requiring a separate page for each message.
Interactive Viewing: Users can manually move to the next or previous slide, or you can auto-rotate slides (though that must be handled carefully for accessibility).
Use cases
Hero banners on a homepage featuring multiple promotional images or headlines
Product galleries allowing users to swipe through images of an item
Testimonial or featured content slides in marketing pages
Not to be confused with
Tabs: Tabs organize related content into different panels. A carousel typically displays visual content in a sliding manner, often automatically advancing.
Accordion: An accordion vertically expands or collapses sections of content. A carousel moves horizontally (or occasionally vertically) and focuses on showcasing multiple items, one at a time.
Best practices
Keep Controls Discoverable
Include clear navigation elements (arrows, dots, or both) to let users move through slides at their own pace.
Provide visual focus/hover states to indicate interactiveness.
Set the Right Timing
If auto-advancing slides, avoid moving them too quickly. Give users enough time to read or view each slide.
Offer a way to pause auto-rotation (e.g., hover pause or a visible pause button), essential for accessibility and user control.
Ensure Accessibility
Provide keyboard navigation (left/right arrow keys to move through slides).
Use proper ARIA attributes (role="region", aria-live, etc.) to announce changes if necessary.
Make sure text within slides meets color contrast standards and remains readable.
Prioritize Content
The first slide or the default view should display the most critical or engaging content since not all users will interact with subsequent slides.
Keep slides concise—avoid overloading them with too much text or interactive elements.
Responsive & Mobile-Friendly
Ensure swiping is possible on touch devices.
Adjust slide layouts for smaller screens (e.g., scaling images, reducing text).
Avoid very tall or wide slides that require awkward scrolling or pinch-zoom.
Performance Considerations
Lazy-load images if there are many slides to avoid heavy initial load times.
Optimize image sizes for different devices (responsive images or placeholders).
Monitor Engagement
In analytics, check whether users actually interact with the carousel or watch multiple slides.
If engagement is low, reconsider the carousel’s necessity or approach.
Alternative Content Flow
For essential information, provide a non-carousel fallback or a list below. Some users may miss details if they don’t move past the first slide.
Limit the carousel to content genuinely worth rotating through—too many slides can overwhelm users or go unnoticed.
Summary
A carousel is a visually engaging way to present multiple pieces of content in a compact area, letting users explore them one slide at a time. By ensuring discoverable controls, proper accessibility (keyboard navigation, pause options), and a thoughtful, responsive design, you can help users quickly navigate through featured items or promotions. Careful timing, performance optimization, and clear content hierarchy will further enhance the carousel’s effectiveness while preventing overload or frustration.
