A toggle is a switch that can be used to change between two different states or options. It is commonly used in technology, computing and programming to provide users with a simple way to update settings or modes. When designing a toggle it is important to ensure that the correct visual cues are in place so that users can clearly identify what state the toggle is currently in. Toggles are often used to show or hide features on a page but they can also be used to manage content organization or to improve navigation. When implemented correctly, toggles can enhance user experience by minimizing scrolling and making it easy for visitors to find the information they need.

Feature Toggles are a critical tool in the development and deployment process. They allow engineering teams to add, test and rollback features without affecting all users. They can be used to perform multivariate testing, experiment with new features and improve the performance of existing features.

While they can be very valuable, using toggles improperly can cause confusion for your users and damage their trust in your product. To avoid this, it is best to only use toggles when the feature in question has a clear benefit and will not confuse your users. Toggles should be clearly labeled, use standard visual design and be applied consistently across all parts of your product.

When you do decide to use a toggle it is also important to ensure that your team has a robust process in place for managing them. Savvy teams consider their feature flag inventory as inventory that comes with a carrying cost and seek to keep it as low as possible by being proactive in removing toggles that are no longer required. To do this they may even add a task on their backlog to remove each toggle as it is introduced or they may put “expiration dates” on their toggles to ensure that they are removed in a timely manner.

As your application grows in complexity and you begin to use more and more toggles a management platform like Kameleoon can help your team reduce technical debt by providing a central location for managing current and old toggles. By having a single dashboard for all of your toggles your team can easily track the status of each and make changes when necessary.

One common misuse of toggle switches is to use them to perform A/B tests. By toggling a new feature on for a cohort of users you can compare the effect of that feature on their behavior with the behavior of a control group of users who are not exposed to the tested feature.

For example a common A/B test is to see if a certain Call To Action wording has a better conversion rate than another. To do this a toggle is added to your code that buckets users into two groups. When the toggle is turned on the users will be sent down one codepath and when it is flipped off they will be sent down the other.