Yogesh Bhusara
All experiments

06 / SCROLL BEHAVIOR

Scroll Anchoring

The problem

New content loads above what you are reading and the page lurches, losing your place mid-sentence.

The solution

Preserve the visible anchor element position.

Experiment

Task: Read the highlighted item, then insert content above.

NAIVE

Feed item 1

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 3

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 4

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 5

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

anchor

Feed item 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 7

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 8

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

anchor id4
prev top0px
new top0px
correction0px
THOUGHTFUL

Feed item 1

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 3

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 4

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 5

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

anchor

Feed item 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 7

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Feed item 8

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

anchor id4
prev top0px
new top0px
correction0px

Play with the values

200px
0ms

How it works

Seen in

Social feeds

New posts load above your reading position without shoving the current item off screen.

Chat threads

Incoming messages above the viewport don't jump you away from what you're reading.

Infinite scroll

Prepended content keeps your scroll anchor stable as older items load in.

Live updates

Real-time inserts above the fold preserve the element you were focused on.

References