Infinite scroll lets content load continuously as users move down the page, unlike the click-to-load method of traditional pagination. This feature can offer a smoother experience, especially on mobile devices.
Discover how to set up infinite scroll using plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Setting Up the Frontend
Start with a basic HTML structure to display your content. Here’s an example:
This page contains a series of placeholder images and references two resources: a CSS file and a JavaScript file.
CSS Styling for Scrollable Content
To display the placeholder images in a grid, add the following CSS to yourstyle.cssfile:
At the moment, your page should look like this:
Core Implementation With JS
Editscript.js. To implement infinite scroll, you need to detect when the user has scrolled near the bottom of the content container or page.
Then, create a function to fetch more placeholder data.
For this project, you can use the API fromfakestoreapi.
To confirm your data is being fetched on scroll, take a look at the console:
You’ll notice your data is being fetched multiple times on scroll which can be a factor that hurts device performance. To prevent this, create an initial fetching state of the data:
Then, modify your fetch function to only fetch data after a previous fetch has finished.
Displaying the New Content
To display new content when the user scrolls down the page, create a function that appends the images to the parent container.
First, select the parent element:
Then, create a function to append content.
Finally, modify your fetch function and pass the fetched data to the append function.
And with that, your infinite scroll now works.
Infinite Scroll Enhancements
To enhance user experience, you can display a loading indicator when fetching new content. Start by adding this HTML.
Then select the loading element.
Finally, create two functions to toggle the visibility of the loading indicator.
Then, add them to the fetch function.
Which gives:
Good Practices for Infinite Scroll
Some best practices to follow include:
Mastering Seamless Content Loading
Infinite scrolling lets users browse content smoothly, and it’s great for people using mobile devices. If you use the tips and important advice from this article, you can add this feature to your websites.
Remember to think about how the users feel when they use your site. Show things like progress signs and error notes to make sure the user knows what’s happening.
