August 7, 2016

Hover is dead

Tablet-laptop hybrids, like Windows Surface, are gaining popularity. They do not allow for hover effects (the effects triggered by the mouse cursor hovering an HTML object), as they simply have no mouse cursor, just like phones and tablets. Therefore we can no longer rely on hover.

Nevertheless, hover actions are still very important. Mice and trackpads aren’t going anywhere yet. Using the hover action for them can give important user feedback about whether something is clickable or what the outcome may be. So here is a piece of advice:

• Do use hover as clear feedback on clickable elements for people using a mouse.
• Do use hover to trigger shortcut actions, but make sure they are optional.
• Don’t use hover as the primary action to trigger anything essential. Ever! FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

()  Joost van der Schee