The Effects Of Parallax Scrolling On User Experience And Preference In Web Design

Parallax scrolling is becoming an increasingly popular strategy in web design. In addition to its ability to engage users with a website, advocates of the technique argue that it also improves the overall user experience. This study was therefore conducted to investigate whether parallax scrolling can support these claims. Researchers have attributed a pleasurable user experience to the fulfillment of the following variables: usability, satisfaction, enjoyment, fun and visual appeal. The goal of this study was to establish whether or not parallax scrolling can influence these variables and subsequently the user experience. Eighty six individuals were randomly selected and assigned to one of two experimental groups. Participants from each group completed three tasks on one of two websites, which were identical in all respects except for scrolling effects. While group 1 interacted with a website utilizing the parallax scrolling effect, group 2 saw a website not using the effect. All participants completed a survey after completing their tasks. A Mann-Whitney test was performed to compare participants’ survey responses with respect to the five measured variables. However, it failed to return any significant differences between the groups, except for ‘fun’. The finding revealed that although parallax scrolling enhanced certain aspects of the user experience, it did not necessarily improve the overall user experience