A toggle is a switch that has two positions: ON and OFF. It’s often used to control system settings (like airplane mode) or preferences. It’s also popular in mobile applications, as it takes up less screen space than a checkbox or radio button.
A good toggle should clearly convey its current state using visual cues like color and animation. It should also use readable text with a short length to avoid cognitive overload. Finally, it should be responsive to user input – if the toggle is turned on and they click it off it should turn back ON immediately, otherwise it may confuse users.
Despite the popularity of toggles, they can still be a poor choice in certain situations. For example, toggles are inherently inaccessible for people with cognitive disabilities. This can be due to the fact that they are visually confusing and that they depend on a combination of colors and other elements to convey their meaning. In addition, they are not always well-placed on the page and can be difficult to access.
Additionally, if your toggles are managed via static files, it can be fiddly to modify the configuration at scale and can impact the cycle time of testing, which can have a significant impact on the all-important feedback loop that CI/CD provides. To avoid this issue many teams move to a more flexible toggle configuration solution which provides runtime re-configuration. This is often accompanied by the build-out of an admin UI which allows testers and product managers to view and modify their toggles.
