A toggle is a control that has two states: on and off. A toggle can be used for a variety of purposes, but most frequently to enable or disable features in a software application. Toggle switches typically use high-contrast colors, and the state descriptors “On” or “Off” to indicate their status. Toggle switch designs should consider the societal and cultural implications for their audience, especially when using color as a signal of state.
Feature Toggles are an important tool in continuous development practices, allowing you to roll out or roll back changes at scale during code deployment. They also enable you to experiment with new functionality and validate how it will be received by your audience before rolling it out.
Toggles can help you stabilize and manage your applications during peak traffic periods by temporarily disabling non-essential features. They can also be used to improve the performance of your application by temporarily enabling performance-intensive features.
The configuration of a toggle is usually stored in a database. As a result, changing the configuration of a toggle requires a database query every time your code executes. In addition, a toggle’s configuration can become outdated as your product grows. As a result, it is important to have a process in place for removing old toggles from your codebase, whether that’s through adding tasks to your team’s backlog or building a feature flag management solution like Kameleoon into your applications.
When designing a toggle, make sure it is clear which state it is in by utilizing visual signifiers such as a colored border or an icon. The name of the toggle should also provide useful information to someone reading it in source code. This includes who created it, how long it has been in the codebase, and what it does.
