How to Fix a Mouse Scrolling Problem in WordPress
Have you ever tried using your mouse to scroll through a web page and ended up with a blurry vision because of the movement of the mouse pointer?
Have you ever tried to highlight text in a web page and ended up selecting a box that wasn’t part of the text you wanted to select?
Have you ever tried to click a button on a web page and ended up hitting an adjacent one because the button was not where you looked?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you have a mouse scrolling problem in WordPress.
Let’s fix it.
Review Website Needs
The very first step to fixing a mouse scrolling problem in WordPress is to review your website’s needs. What do you need from your website?
Are there any requirements for the website to be shown correctly in large or small screens?
Is there a specific mobile version of your site that you need to develop?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself before deciding to build the site.
If you can’t answer these questions positively, it’s time to revisit your website’s goals and ask yourself again.
Redesign for Small Screens
The very first thing you need to do to fix your mouse scrolling problem is to redesign your site for small screens. Your site’s layout and design should mirror what’s shown on a phone or tablet screen. When it comes to mobile browsing, people are used to horizontal scrolling so make sure you design your site in a way that looks good on a smaller device. If you’re using a fixed-width layout, this will be easier said than done, but you can still achieve a good result.
Make sure you test the site on all major mobile devices, especially smartphones, to ensure it looks good on all of them. You also need to test it with a mouse and trackpad because a lot of people still use those and not the touch interface.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to tackle the text size. Currently, your site displays mostly large text because that’s all you need to fit within the available width (in most cases).
If you’ve ever tried to read an article on a phone or tablet, you’ll know that even if it’s small text, it’s still difficult to read because the text is so small.
When possible, you should prefer smaller text sizes because it’s easier to read on small devices. The ideal size for headings, for example, is around 6 points, with paragraphs ideally coming in at around 4 points.
If you’ve ever gone shopping on a mobile device, you’ll know that the text sizes change based on the amount you’ve decided to spend. So if you have a small screen, you’ll end up with bigger text because you’re reading on a smaller device.
Use Images Instead of Text
Another step to fixing your WordPress mouse scrolling problem is to replace text with images. The reason why most websites use so much text is because it’s easier to read than images. On a mobile device especially, having images instead of text makes the website easier to browse because when you tap on an image, you expect the site to do something. You don’t have to hunt for the text to know what it is you’re looking for.
Having images instead of text makes the site easier to design, too. It’s much easier to see how something will look before you’ve written it down. It’s also a lot faster to design a site with images than it is with text. You’re not going to write a style guide for the site, you’re just going to insert images into the design.
Redesign for App Browsing
The last step of fixing your WordPress mouse scrolling problem is to redesign your site for app browsing. You do this by implementing a mobile-friendly version of your site with minimalistic design. When creating an app-friendly version of your site, you need to remove all the design elements that aren’t essential for the app to function correctly. For example, you don’t need a featured image for the App Store since all the apps have their own featured images. You also don’t need the full-width layout for the same reason. The most important thing is that you make sure the user experience is the same as what they would get on mobile.
To begin with, you should test the app on both iOS and Android platforms. If everything is working as it should be, it’s time to implement the app onto a fully functioning site.
The ideal scenario is to have an app-friendly version of your site that looks exactly like the regular one, except for the fact that it looks better on a phone screen. For example, if your site has a featured image on the homepage, you can display it in the app version as well. Since the image is going to look the same in both places, visitors should not notice any difference.
In terms of the text on the page, you can either keep it as is or you can simplify it. The important thing is that everything in the app version is functional and easy to understand. If you’ve followed the steps thus far, everything should be easy to implement.
Final Takeaway
Hopefully, going through these steps to fix your mouse scrolling problem will get you one step closer to resolving the issue. If you’ve followed them carefully and tested all the changes extensively, you can be sure that the site will perform much better on mobile devices. Especially if you’ve used smaller text sizes and images where appropriate.