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This is used quite extensively across the web, but I'm wondering whether it is actually necessary.

Alot of animated banners/carousels on websites use navigation or paging links so that you can jump to a particular banner within the set. The problem is that alot of these paging links don't give any indication of what banner you will be scrolling to if you clicked it. So should they be used, and if so, is it necessary to offer a tooltip on hover?

This also brings up a point about the number of banners to include in a set. If paging is required then are there too many banners to scroll through? Is a previous and next link enough to offer the user?

Screenshot below of an example of paging within a scrolling web banner (paging is in the top right): enter image description here

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From my experience, there are a number of arguments to whether or not a carousel navigation should be displayed. But perhaps the strongest argument of all is why use a carousel in the first place? Take a look at this StackExhange UX post for elaboration on this.

Rotating banners can occasionally attract the eye of the user, but change before the user has a chance to take a good look at it. In this instance some sort of navigation would seem useful to quickly skip back to the post in question.

That said, it can quickly become annoying for a user if a selected state automatically changes before the user is done. In this instance, the rotation should stop upon selection - unfortunately this isn't the case for the vast majority of carousels out there.

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  • for arguments sake then, if the carousel pauses upon hover (which it should generally do), there is a pause button offered and there are previous and next links - is the paging necessary as well? – Dave Haigh Oct 9 '12 at 11:01
  • I'd say previous and next links would suffice, the navigation then (if still included) would really only serve the purpose of indicating to the user how many pages there are - Information not needed. – Daniel Meade Oct 9 '12 at 11:06
  • good point - indicating number of items in the scroller could be useful to the user. Would they then solely act as a visual aid or would you make them clickable too? – Dave Haigh Oct 9 '12 at 11:18
  • I'm not sure I'd include them at all. Ok a visual aid can be useful. But if it's there then why wouldn't it be clickable? So by the time you've been through all of this, we're back to your original question. I personally stand by the approach of not including a carousel at all, because users are trained to miss moving objects (the mind portrays them as adverts and gives them little importance). But if a carousel is to be used, I'd only have a next and previous options available. Auto scroll is fine, but the user should be able to halt at least on hover. – Daniel Meade Oct 9 '12 at 11:41
  • Some further evidence for why not to use automatic carousels: conversionxl.com/… – Sheff Oct 9 '12 at 12:13
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I, for one, would suggest keeping the navigation outside the image frame. Using thumbnail navigation works best for me. The user can see what image they are scrolling to and also the thumbnails create a visually separate navigation area.

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Q1 )Is paging within a scrolling banner necessary?

One question have you set Cover image to your profile on Facebook, if yes you know why you need those banners. i.e to explain what the page below is all about.

Q2) The problem is that alot of these paging links don't give any indication of what banner you will be scrolling to if you clicked it. So should they be used, and if so, is it necessary to offer a tooltip on hover?

How great would be for me to go on an web site of any Company or News portal to check out what's hot going around in world (if news), care has to be taken not to show many banners as this would take away surprise that is experienced by user who is navigating through.

Q3) If paging is required then are there too many banners to scroll through? Is a previous and next link enough to offer the user?

Definitely no you need more navigation options if you have many banners, but why would any one show many banners? You are expected to highlight only important things.

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