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In the realm of web design, user experience is paramount. One common issue that can detract from a seamless user experience is unwanted scrolling, especially when popups or specific navigational elements are in play. Disabling scrolling in these contexts can significantly enhance usability and ensure that your website functions as intended. In this blog, we will delve into the nuances of disabling scrolling in Webflow, highlight the drawbacks of not implementing this feature, explore the benefits, and provide a detailed guide on using the Finsweet library to achieve this.
Why Disable Scrolling?
Scrolling is an intuitive and essential part of web navigation, but there are instances where it can become a hindrance. For example, when a popup appears, the user should focus on the popup's content without the distraction of the page moving in the background. Similarly, specific navigational elements, such as off-canvas menus, require the main content to remain static to avoid a jarring user experience.
Drawbacks of Not Disabling Scrolling:
- Distracted User Focus: When a popup is active, allowing the user to scroll can divert their attention from the intended content. This can lead to a fragmented user experience and reduce the effectiveness of the popup.
- Background Interference: For specific navigational elements like off-canvas menus or modal windows, scrolling can cause unintended interactions with the background content, leading to confusion and potential navigation errors.
- Aesthetic Disruption: Scrolling in the background while a popup is active can disrupt the visual integrity of your website, making it look less polished and professional.
Benefits of Disabling Scrolling
- Enhanced User Experience: By keeping the user’s focus on the active element (e.g., popup or modal), you ensure that their interaction is smooth and intentional.
- Improved Accessibility: Disabling scrolling helps in creating a more accessible website, as it prevents screen readers and keyboard navigation from jumping around unexpectedly.
- Design Consistency: Maintaining a static background while interactive elements are active ensures that your website's design remains consistent and visually appealing.
Finsweet Library Overview
Finsweet is a renowned library that offers various tools and attributes to enhance Webflow functionalities. One of its notable features is the ability to disable scrolling effortlessly. The library is well-documented, easy to integrate, and provides robust solutions for common web design challenges.
Key Features of Finsweet Library:
- Ease of Use: Simple to implement with clear documentation and examples.
- Flexibility: Highly customizable to fit different web design needs.
- Reliability: Tested and used by a wide community, ensuring stability and performance.
Implementing Finsweet Disable Scrolling in Webflow
Now, let's dive into the step-by-step process of implementing the Finsweet disable scrolling feature in your Webflow project. Follow these detailed instructions to enhance your website's user experience effectively.
Step 1: Integrate Finsweet Library
- Open your Webflow project.
- Go to the page settings of the page where you want to disable scrolling.
- In the head tag section, add the following code to include the Finsweet library:
IMPORTANT NOTE:
To disable scrolling on your Webflow project, copy the code below and paste it inside the <head> tag of your page settings:
<!-- [Attributes by Finsweet] Disable scrolling -->
<script defersrc="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@finsweet/attributes-scrolldisable@1/scrolldisable.js"></script>
Alternatively, you can get the code directly from the Finsweet library documentation:
Step 2: Add Disable Scrolling Attribute
Next, you will add the Finsweet attribute to the elements where you want to disable scrolling.
First Example: We have two buttons, one to disable scroll and the other to enable scroll on the page using Finsweet attributes on these elements. How do we achieve this? In our case, we want the red button to disable scrolling on the page. Follow these steps:
- Select the element designated to disable scroll, in my case, the red button (you can use any other element, not just a button).
- Open “Settings” in the top right corner.
- In the “Settings” tab, scroll down to “Custom attributes”.
- In the “Custom attributes” section, add the following as per Finsweet documentation:
- In the “Name” field, enter fs-scrolldisable-element.
- in the “Value” field, enter disable.
Note:
If you have followed all the steps correctly, on the live site, clicking the button with the above attributes (in my case, the red button) will disable scrolling on the page.
Similarly, the principle applies to the other button (in my case, the green one) which will enable scrolling again when clicked. To repeat the steps for the enabling button:
- Select the element designated to enable scroll, in my case, the green button (you can use any other element, not just a button).
- Open “Settings” in the top right corner.
- In the “Custom attributes” section, add the following as per Finsweet documentation:
- In the “Name” field, enter fs-scrolldisable-element.
- In the “Value” field, enter enable.
Note:
If you have followed all the steps correctly, on the live site, clicking the button with the above attributes (currently the green button) will enable scrolling on the page.
Second Example: In this example, we will use one button that will disable scrolling on the first click and enable it on the second click. Follow these steps:
- Select the element designated to toggle scroll, in my case, the yellow button (you can use any other element, not just a button).
- Open “Settings” in the top right corner.
- In the “Custom attributes” section, add the following as per Finsweet documentation:
- In the “Name” field, enter fs-scrolldisable-element.
- In the “Value” field, enter toggle.
Note:
If you have followed all the steps correctly, on the live site, the first click on the element with these attributes (in my case, the yellow button) will disable scrolling, and the second click on the same element will enable scrolling on the page.
Third Example: In this example, we will show how to use “SMART NAV”. When the navigation menu is open, scrolling will be disabled until the menu is closed, at which point scrolling will be re-enabled. This is a powerful example as it is frequently used, especially since most navigation menus on smaller devices cover the entire width and height of the screen, significantly improving user experience by preventing background scrolling while in the navigation menu. Follow these steps to achieve this:
- Select the element designated to toggle scroll, in this case, select the navigation.
- Open “Settings” in the top right corner.
- In the “Custom attributes” section, add the following as per Finsweet documentation:
- In the “Name” field, enter fs-scrolldisable-element.
- In the “Value” field, enter smart-nav.
Note:
As you have probably noticed by now, the input in the “Name” field is always the same, i.e., fs-scrolldisable-element, while we only change the “Value” field depending on what we need on our site.
Conclusion
You have seen how to use the Finsweet Library to disable scroll in Webflow without writing any additional custom code, simply by adding specific custom attributes as per our needs. I recommend thoroughly reviewing their documentation on this topic as it is excellently crafted and easy to use. There are also additional options you can explore. Our goal was to show you the most important examples that you can use daily in any project.
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