EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SKELETON SCREENS Skelet | InsightStream
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SKELETON SCREENS
Skeleton screens in different shapes and sizes are seemingly found everywhere across the web and apps — anywhere humans are forced to wait.
Research summary (TL;DR)
Skeleton screens (as splash screens), when used to indicate that a screen is loading, are perceived as being shorter in duration when compared against a blank screen (our control) and a spinner — but not by much
Skeleton screens should not block gradual content loads (real content should replace skeleton objects immediately when the data is available). The vast majority of skeleton screens in use today are splash screens, and not skeleton screens in the original way described by Luke Wroblewski
When designing skeleton screens, it’s recommended using motion to further decrease perceived duration time
Skeleton screens that leverage motion that moves from left to right (e.g. a wave or shimmer like animation, much like Facebook or Google uses) are perceived as shorter in duration than skeletons that pulse (opacity fading in and out)
Skeleton screens using motion that is slow and steady are perceived as shorter in duration than skeleton screens that use fast or rapid motion
The sample sizes in this study are too small to conclude anything definitively, but they do provide useful hints as to how we could design waiting experiences
As Peter Conrad best put it, “Modernity is about the acceleration of time”. From pure personal observation, the truth of this seems self-evident. Our culture’s patience thins daily, our walking pace has seemingly quickened to near jogging speeds, and our waning tolerance for all things even mildly idle in nature has given way to an entire industry of productivity pundits.
In this human rebuke of slowness will undoubtedly arise new anxieties and irrational impulses. And perhaps new ways to stanch our fear that time is slipping from our grasp — as we sit and quietly contemplate skeleton screens.
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