![]() ![]() Should you use checkboxes, radio buttons, or toggle buttons?īut what about checkboxes or radio buttons, you might be thinking? Well, the visual indication for a checkbox differs from a toggle button. ![]() The chosen state must be clear to signify to the user what state is selected. A good toggle button is clearly defined, with either text or icon labels clearly denoting the action that will take place if selected. Not having a default state would go against well established design patterns and might cause confusion amongst users if they’re not immediately certain what initial choice has been made by default. The system by default has exclusively selected our default state. Choosing both left and right aligned text together wouldn’t make sense, right?įurthermore, all toggle buttons should have a default state, and in our Google Docs example, the default state is left aligned. Exclusive in this case means one as in, I can only choose one of the four options. Specifically, it’s an exclusive selection toggle button. As I currently write this article, in Google Docs, I have the option to left align, center align, right align or fully justify text - that’s a toggle button. ![]() Let’s focus on the toggle button by using an example most of us will be familiar with. A toggle switch is more like its real-life counterpart, the light switch. Simple, right? A toggle button, top, can actually have more than two options. If you search for both terms on Google, you’ll likely see a mishmash of both controls shown as folks scramble to make sense of it all.īut it’s actually rather simple: a toggle button can have more than two options, whereas a toggle switch will only ever have two options. Let’s get this out of the way first: a toggle button is not the same as a toggle switch. When is the right time to use a toggle button? What are the best tools to create effective toggle buttons?.Should you use checkboxes, radio buttons, or toggles?.When is the right time to use a toggle button?.It’s also worth mentioning that while most publications refer to these controls as toggle buttons, Apple is more likely to refer to them as segmented controls. N.B., a toggle button in interface design can technically have more than two options, as we’ll demonstrate next. Toggle buttons should be accessible, no excuses.įurthermore, what tools exist today to allow us to create effective toggle buttons based on these considerations? In this article, let’s explore further what a toggle button is and what tools we can use to our advantage to help us to make a toggle button that observes good design practice. How toggle buttons are presented and whether or not they are accessible are equally as important. Do we really understand how users will navigate through a particular system, and have we anticipated how they might do that? Can we say with certainty that a toggle button is a good choice over, for example, a checkbox? More on that later. There are considerations we need to acknowledge before we enthusiastically include them in our interfaces.Īs is often the case with many UI components, toggle buttons should be used appropriately. In order to provide the best user experience possible, this is obviously something we want to get right.Ī toggle button is only as good as its implementation. It’s a control that, if not designed with careful planning, can be a source of friction and confusion for users. The toggle button is one of the most important user interface controls on the web and in apps today. The best tools to create effective toggle buttons After working as Lead UX Designer with several startups in Belfast, he now works on a consultancy basis. He began his career working with a respected design agency after graduating from the University of Ulster. Chris Kernaghan Follow Chris Kernaghan is a Lead UX Designer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ![]()
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