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Ask HN: Do you like to see “Back to top” buttons on websites?

17 points by jamieweb ↗ HN
I'm talking about the ones that are pinned to the bottom right and scroll along with you.

I use a low mouse sensitivity so they're useful for getting back to the top.

Do you find them annoying, useful, don't care? What about on mobile - I find that they just get in the way there.

32 comments

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camtarn
Annoying, yes. If I'm on desktop and I want to get back to the top, I'll flick my scroll wheel or hit the Home button. On mobile I'll just flick the screen.
__float
I've always wondered about these. I don't care on desktop, because high velocity scrolling on a MacBook is easy. On mobile, the iOS pattern to tap the top of the screen is my go-to, I find these buttons to waste valuable screen real estate.
bhengaij
I find them very important on phone, hate elsewhere.
anoncoward111
I use back to top heavily on 4chan for very long threads.

However, I would prefer the site just be minimally designed, so one fast flick of the screen returns to top.

PavlovsCat
When I want to go up, I have already pressed the home key on the keyboard before I can think of looking for something to click.
drngdds
I don't think I've ever used one because I usually have a home key. When I don't, I just swipe up.
anoncake
Things like that should be browser features.
wtroughton
I use Vimium plugin to navigate web pages. gg brings to the top of the page whereas Ctrl + G brings me to the bottom.
chrisshroba
This is probably the Vimium feature I use most often!
s4vi0r
C-g? Does that also work, or did you mix up G/S-g?
jplayer01
It really bothers the fuck out of me that I can't find any iOS browser with a back to top feature. It makes browsing far more annoying than it needs to be and I end up not bothering.
WA
Double tap the address bar in Safari. This goes back to top.

edit: or the status bar (tested on iPhone XS)

setr
Works on ios chrome too, but for both it breaks down when a call/gps banner is up there
saurik
Even more: it is a global feature that is supposed to work for any view controller with a scrollable view. (I wouldn't describe it as "double tap", though: you tap the status bar once, but in Safari the status bar is hidden as you scroll down so you have to tap the top of the screen to reveal it.)
jplayer01
It doesn't really work. It's just fiddly and often doesn't do what I want it to. I don't even understand how it's supposed to work. I tap at the top so the address bar shows up. I tap the address bar. It thinks I want to enter a URL, so it changes the view.
saagarjha
You're supposed to tap at the very top, near the time or the notch depending on what device you have. This works in all apps that use standard scroll views.
ssijak
Double tap not on the address bar but above, on the time in the OS top bar.
supakeen
I usually use the home and end keys on my keyboard.
md8
I use them very often.
CM30
I just don't care about them. They don't harm anything, I just never really need a link to go back to the top of the page, so I barely notice their existence.
t-3
On desktop - no, I use qutebrowser or firefox/vim vixen. On mobile: Yes. I have fat fingers and find gestures both difficult and unintuitive.
ktpsns
"Back to top" buttons are a system-in-system effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner-platform_effect) and clearly an anti-pattern. Scrolling should be handled by the browser and if a user agent (for instance with a small screen) thinks it is neccessary to give help for scrolling, it should do so, customizable for the user. This is not the task of a website.
MiddleEndian
Occasionally useful on mobile for giant pages. Useless on devices with keyboards.
yesenadam
No, don't like them (or anything fixed on screen like that), don't use them. (I use a desktop computer only) They're possibly worse (because not removable) than windows that pop up saying Subscribe? Cookies? etc which all always get a big NO from me.
yesenadam
Worse than Subscribe popups?! Are you crazy?! Oh wait, I said that. :-)
zzo38computer
Like you, I also hate it (which I mentioned already). However, often it can be removed by adding user CSS (if you use a browser or extension that supports that) (which I did not mention already).
askafriend
I just always use the "CMD-Up" shortcut on Mac so the "Back to top" buttons feel like visual clutter once you've learned the keyboard shortcut.
sergiotapia
What I do is just press the Home key. I have literally never used one of those back to top buttons.
sylvanhughes
Love it!! When I don't see one, I actually get frustrated. Especially when it's a super long multi-section landing page.
zzo38computer
No, I don't like it. I push the "home" key to get back to the top.
dexterw10
If you accidentally click on that button while you are amid reading or something....it can be a great frustration as it will land you to the top. So, sometimes I too find "back to top buttons" frustrating.
rchaud
Depends on the page design and target user. For lengthy, multi-section pages, a "Back to Top" can be helpful, but it'd be better if there was a fixed Table of Contents with links to the sections of the page. Otherwise, I always have the Home/End buttons.

On mobile, page should be designed such that the button is easy to reach, visible and not blocked by or blocking the text. For a button placed on the bottom right of the page, the body content should be set up so there's a little extra padding on the right. This way, there's a clear visual separation between the text and the button.