A toggle is a user-interface component that helps people update preferences, settings, and other types of information by offering them a choice between two opposing states. When used correctly, toggles provide direct labels, use standard visual design, and deliver immediate results. While some may consider them a bit rigid or restrictive, they have proven themselves to be a very effective tool for managing state in the user interface.

Toggles can be used to control features that are either off by default or enabled only by a permissions model. These toggles are typically short-lived and should not be in place for very long, although product-centric toggles may need to stay around for longer periods of time. When using this type of toggle, it’s important to make sure that it’s paired with an obvious confirmation button to avoid any user confusion about whether their action has been successfully applied.

Feature Toggles should be named so that they clearly indicate their purpose to anyone who comes across them in source code. This gives team members valuable context about why the toggle is there and what it does (or doesn’t do). It also makes it easy to reference the toggle for future projects and helps developers maintain consistency in implementations throughout a project.

Another benefit of having the toggle configuration live side-by-side in source control is that we can easily see how a toggle was configured in previous releases. Especially for shorter-lived toggles, this can be helpful when deciding to roll out a new version that will change the toggle state.

If we have a long form that uses toggles, it’s generally better to replace them with checkboxes when the feature can be replaced with something that’s more intuitive for the users. A toggle should only be used when it’s necessary for the user to choose between two different values that affect the state of content or a view. For other kinds of choices, such as selecting options from a list, use a different component.

In order to prevent overlapping, it’s best to limit the number of toggles that are active at any given time. This will keep the user experience as clear and uncluttered as possible while still allowing the user to choose from a variety of options.

It’s also best to remove old toggles as soon as they have finished their lifecycle and are no longer needed. This will help reduce the amount of maintenance that has to be done to manage them and also reduces the risk of bugs that could stem from unused toggles. This can be accomplished by adding cleanup tasks to the team’s backlogs or building the process into your management platform.