What Is a Toggle?

August 12, 2024 by No Comments

A toggle is a switch that can be set to two states: on and off. It’s used in technology, computing, programming, and communication to provide an easy way to switch between different modes or settings.

An e-commerce company decides to try an experiment with their product configurator to see which suggestion algorithm is most effective. They add an experiment toggle to the configurator and divide users into a control group and an experimental group, then use a modulo to change the toggle state every time a user loads the page. After three weeks, the team feels confident that they have conclusive data and can remove the experiment toggle and make the winning suggestion algorithm live for all users.

A toggle in your program is a variable that stores a Boolean value and triggers events or actions when its state changes. Toggle switches are commonly used in programs to manage user experience (UX) features, including personalization, onboarding, and testing. Toggle switches can be triggered by clicks, mouse movements, or other events and then switch to a new state—usually either on or off.

Feature toggles must be designed with accessibility in mind, especially when it comes to colors and labels. High-contrast colors—like green for on and red for off—are a good choice to help users quickly understand what state the toggle is in. However, it’s also important to evaluate societal and cultural differences for the audience you’re designing for when choosing color schemes for toggles.