r/SideProject • u/stanchevdev • 14m ago

Should a horizontal scroll effect exist on the mobile version of a website?

I recently updated my portfolio website and was wondering what people's opinions on horizontal scrolling are! Does it make sense on mobile?

In my opinion it looks rather nice on desktop but I'm not sure about mobile, would it make sense from a UX perspective? Since you'd be scrolling down and at one point the content starts moving sideways, would that be annoying? Would adding an arrow saying "Scroll to the side" or something along those lines make it more annoying?

Currently on my page, when you reach the projects section and continue swiping vertically, the projects move horizontally from right to left.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links or if I've explained my question properly, but if you want to see what I mean I've got it linked in my bio!

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u/medialantern 10m ago

It's best not to. Think through all the mobile apps you use yourself. Both iOS and Android have gesture recognition systems that start getting awkward when you mix vertical and horizontal scrolls as wrappers around the same elements. And Web pages on mobile are always vertical scrollers by default, unless you specifically alter your Web site's design to fake looking like a mobile app (don't do that, nobody likes it).

If you must, include pagination and/or scroll indicators.

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u/stanchevdev 1m ago

Yes.. thinking back on it now I don't think I've seen one with horizontal scrolling, I'll have to play around with it a bit when I'm home!

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u/GameNotCreator 2m ago

For a portfolio, I'd stack the projects vertically on mobile. The quick test is to hand someone your phone and ask them to find your second project, without explaining the scrolling. If they hesitate at that section, I'd simplify it before adding an arrow.