A toggle is a switch that has two positions, on or off. It is commonly used in technology, computing, programming and user interfaces to allow users to easily change settings or modes. You can find toggles in everyday technology like video chat screens that show two people at once and physical switches on a light switch board or car dashboard.
There are several ways to create a Toggle in a program including using web components, custom controls, and code comments. Each has their own benefits and drawbacks. For example, web components have the advantage of a consistent and consistent interface across different browsers. However, they tend to be a bit more difficult to maintain and require extra logic when compared with code comments. On the other hand, custom controls can have a more complex layout and are easy to customize. However, they can be confusing for users who are unfamiliar with the controls.
When designing a toggle button it is important to keep in mind that users may have difficulty reading these buttons, especially if the colors used are not carefully chosen. This is because there are a few factors that need to be considered, such as the contrast between the background and foreground of the button as well as cultural or societal perceptions about the meaning of on/off.
In the context of Content Toggles, toggles can be used to hide sections or items from viewers while they are viewing an article. This is not to be confused with the visibility setting of an article which is designed to hide an entire article from readers. Toggles are intended to be used for specific elements in an article like key/value items, prompt linked articles, maps, images, quotes and aloud boxes.
Another use for toggles is to allow developers to experiment with new features on their production site without impacting their existing reader base. These experimental features can then be hidden behind toggles until they are ready for release or market testing. This is in contrast to older, more traditional development processes where new features would be written on separate code branches before they could be integrated into the main product.
As with any type of configuration control, managing toggles can become cumbersome at scale and it is important to have a process in place for removing or changing a toggle’s state. Some teams have a policy of adding a toggle removal task to their backlog each time a toggle is first introduced and some even set “expiration dates” on their flags so that they will be removed automatically when they reach the end of their lifecycle.