Understanding Floating and Inline Widgets with Goodreviews
When integrating widgets into your website, choosing the right type and placement is crucial for enhancing user interaction and achieving desired functionalities. Goodreviews offers different types of widgets, including floating and inline styles, each serving unique purposes and suitable for various use cases.
Floating Widgets vs. Inline Widgets
Floating Widgets: Floating widgets are elements that stay visible on the screen as a user scrolls through a page. They are generally positioned at a fixed spot on the screen (like the corner or the side) and remain in view regardless of where you are on the page. Floating widgets are particularly useful for functions that need to be readily accessible, such as help desks, chat supports, or review badges.
Examples from Goodreviews: The Goodreviews Original widget and Badge Widget are examples of floating widgets. These can be used to display important information or actions that should be accessible from anywhere on the site.
Inline Widgets: Inline widgets are embedded directly within the content of a page and do not move with the scroll. They are part of the page flow and typically appear only once in a specific section of a page. Inline widgets are best used for content that is relevant in a particular context within the page content, such as embedded reviews in a product description or a testimonial section on a homepage.
Examples from Goodreviews: The Grid, Masonry and Carousel widgets are inline styles. These are typically used to display content that complements the surrounding information on a page, like showcasing user reviews or testimonials in a structured layout that aligns with the rest of the page content.
Site-Wide Installation vs. Specific Placement
Site-Wide Installation: A site-wide installation means placing a widget on all pages of a website. This approach is generally reserved for floating widgets, which may need to be accessed from any page, such as a floating review badge or a chat icon. Installing a widget site-wide usually involves adding the widget’s code in a common file like the header.html or footer.html that is included on every page, or directly in the theme’s global settings for platforms like Shopify.
Floating Widgets Site-Wide: Floating widgets are the primary candidates for site-wide installation because their accessibility can be crucial across all pages. For example, a floating review badge that shows overall ratings can boost credibility and user trust no matter where they are on the site.
Specific Placement: Placing widgets on specific pages or in specific sections (like the footer or header) caters to more targeted interactions. For instance, embedding a Grid Masonry widget on a testimonial page or a Carousel widget on a product detail page ensures that the content is seen in its proper context.
Inline Widgets in Footers/Headers: Although typically inline widgets are not used site-wide, placing inline widgets in universally included sections like footers or headers can mimic site-wide presence. For example, a carousel of testimonials in the footer that appears across all pages.
Choosing between floating and inline widgets depends on the function the widget serves and how persistent you need its presence on the site. Goodreviews provides both floating widgets (Original and Badge Widgets) and inline widgets (Grid Masonry and Carousel), allowing for flexible integration based on your site’s design and usability requirements. By strategically placing these widgets, you can enhance user engagement, provide valuable information, and improve overall user experience on your website.
