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Google reducing page jumps in Chrome with new scroll anchoring feature

Chrome has finally addressed one of the biggest annoyances with the modern web. Thanks to the new scroll anchoring feature, page jumps that occur when you browse a site before it finishes loading are noticeably reduced.

Unexpected jumps occur when you navigate a page before offscreen content finishes loading. As a result, what you’re currently viewing gets pushed down. This is especially annoying on mobile devices that have smaller screens.

Google addressed this issue on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and Chrome OS beginning with version 56 in late January. Anchoring works by locking the scroll position to an on-screen element to keep you in the same spot even as offscreen content continues to load.

Since implementing, scroll anchoring has prevented about three page jumps per page-view. However, Google warns that this feature might occasionally misbehave or work at inappropriate times due to the complexity of the web.

Site developers can override this feature with the new “overflow-anchor” CSS property. Additionally, scroll anchoring is automatically disabled on complex interactive layouts via suppression triggers and on back/forward navigations to allow for scroll restoration.

Google also has a form where users can submit examples of scroll anchoring misbehaving. Alternatively, the feature can be disabled entirely with flags.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com