I recommend looking at this question Regular pagination vs. infinite scroll for additional inputs on what would be a good practice on when to use what. With regards to whether you should go for pagination or infinite scroll, that will depend on the type of content you have in your application.To quote the article Should you use infinite scroll instead of pagination to load more content?
Context matters
It also depends on the context of your design and how
that content is delivered. As Marissa Mayer of Google explains, the
content that is being displayed is a determining factor. Google Images
uses infinite scroll because users are able to scan and process images
much more quickly than text. Reading a search result takes much
longer. This is the reason why their main search results still use the
more traditional pagination technique.
ESPN is another example of use within context. Under their “News
Feeds” for football teams, the “more” button is used to load more
content only within that section of the page. Think of it as an iframe
with no scroll bar. However, the main search results for ESPN still
implement a traditional pagination technique
I also recommmend looking at this coding horror article for additional inputs on the cons of infinite scrolling
- The scroll bar, the user's moral compass of "how much more is there?" doesn't work in endless pagination because it is effectively
infinite. You'll need an alternate method of providing that crucial
feedback, perhaps as a simple percent loaded text docked at the bottom
of the page.
- Endless pagination should not break deep linking. Even without the concept of a "page", users should be able to clearly and obviously
link to any specific item in the list. Clicking the browser forward or
back button should preserve the user's position in the endless
scrolling stream, perhaps using pushState.
- Pagination may be a bad user experience, but it's essential for web spiders. Don't neglect to accommodate web search engines with a
traditional paging scheme, too, or perhaps a Sitemap.
- Provide visible feedback when you're dynamically loading new items in the list, so the user can tell that new items are coming, and their
browser isn't hung – and that they haven't reached the bottom yet.
- Remember that the user won't be able to reach the footer (or the header) any more, because items keep appearing as they scroll down in
the river of endless content. So either move to static headers and
footers, or perhaps use the explicit "load more" button instead of
loading new content automatically.
With regards to designing infinite scrolling, I recommend looking at this UX movement article Infinite Scrolling Best Practices
To summarize the article
Keep the navigation bar persistently visible When you scroll down a normal web page, the navigation bar gradually loses its visibility.
However, with infinite scrolling it’s best to keep the navigation bar
persistently visible.
Give users feedback when loading new content When new content is loading, users need a clear sign that the website is doing this.
Letting users know when new content is loading allows them to prepare
for a longer page and new content to display. The last thing you want
is a confused or surprised user. Keep them informed by using a
progress indicator to show that new content is loading and will soon
appear on the page.
Show how much content has loaded and how much is left With infinite
scrolling, users will inevitably load a lot of content on their page.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to let users know how much content has
loaded and how much is left. This helps users keep track of their
progress, so that they can pick up where they left off if they decide
come back.
Use a More button if you have a footer If your site has a footer and you’re going to use infinite scrolling, use a More button to load
new content. New content won’t automatically load until the user
clicks the More button. This way users can get to your footer easily
without having to chase it down. Without the More button, users would
only have a few seconds before the footer disappears off the page.
This makes getting to the footer difficult. With a More button users,
users would have control over content and the footer.
Bring users back to their previous spot when they click back When users click back they not only expect to land on their previous page,
but their previous spot on the page. After endlessly scrolling through
content, losing their spot on the page forces users to have to
endlessly scroll through content they have already seen. This
inconveniently gives users more work than they need
