Is Your Content Right for a Slideshow?

Slideshows are incredibly easy to create. Once the back-end structure is in place, editors, with no designer resource, can upload a series of images, slap on a title that gives them some context and flavor, and BAM: you have a slideshow.

We know people click on them. They increase engagement, page views and ultimately opportunities for advertising. As a result, slideshows have become a central figure in the canon of design patterns.

But not all content is good for a slideshow. There are times a slideshow is the perfect style of communication and times that it undermines the user’s positive experience.

The medium is certainly part of the message. To prevent slideshow overuse and abuse, consider its strengths and weaknesses as a communication tool.

Situations where slideshows rock: Slideshows are perfect for linear storytelling and step-by-step processes.

News sites rightly use slideshows to complement feature articles. Carousels of photos are great for providing supplemental content. They can also be strong vehicles for illustrating a news story exclusively through photojournalism.

Another content situation perfectly suited for the “next button” is the how-to. Step by step instructions—from makeup application, cooking recipe steps to home improvement—fit naturally into the slideshow structure.

Situations where slideshows don’t rock: Slideshows are a terrible solution for repurposing a large collection of assets…

Over time, most sites end up with a large library of content. Yes, in theory, this material could become monetizable by organizing it into slideshows. But this only works in theory.

First of all, slideshows create small subject matter silos that easily get lost in a crowd. Take for example extremely common slideshows: celebrity photos, recipes (where one recipe is one slide), top 10 lists, fashion and decorating images. If a user is looking to gaze at photos of Brad Pitt, she’ll likely be forced to sift through silos of however many available slideshows all competing for attention with pithy headers. How will she find what she needs? Unless it’s a slideshow titled “Brad Pics” she’ll never find all Brad photos in one action.

Second, slideshow functionality is simply too limiting for the large scale. With a trove of images, websites should strive to offer users more control over their experience. Visitors should be allowed to play with the entire collection of images through filters, drag and drops, alternative views and more.

One great example can be found on the newly redesigned Vogue.com. There, users can experience the brand’s content differentiator (fashion photography) on their own terms by clipping images from slideshows and putting them into their own libraries of images called “lightboxes.” The design could have easily been limited to collection slideshows, but in adding the “lightbox” functionality, the assets can live a longer life, become an extension of the brand, and create a reason for people to return to the site. One could even imagine this “lightbox” functionality extending into social media or a strategic partnership with Polyvore.com—both of which would drive traffic back to Vogue while increasing brand awareness outside the site.

Fight the Crutch. Before using a slideshow, ask yourself:

• Is the sum of the parts more meaningful than the slideshow as a whole? If so, what is an alternative presentation of the content? Look for a solution that will outshine a competitor’s offerings while giving new life to the content as a collection.
• Can the premium content be displayed in a new way that allows it to breathe outside of the functionality, while still allowing editors still be able to quickly publish new assets to the site?
• Are the images valuable on their own? If so, consider an alternate presentation that allows them to be found individually in search or shared through a strategic partnership.
• Most importantly, if click rates are the dominant reason forcing this design decision, can a new model for advertising be applied to lessen the dependence on the slideshow?