In the realm of modern web design, creating a seamless and intuitive scrolling experience is critical, particularly on touch devices. CSS Scroll Snap Points, introduced in 2019 with the CSS Scroll Snap specification, significantly improved this aspect by allowing developers to create scroll experiences that naturally “snap” to defined points. Building upon this, the scroll-snap-stop property offers finer control over the scroll snapping behavior.

The CSS property scroll-snap-stop gives developers the ability to dictate mandatory snapping within a scroll container. Essentially, it allows designers to enforce stops so that users cannot scroll past certain points with quick gestures, making sure vital content is not inadvertently skipped.

What It Does

The scroll-snap-stop property can take the following values:

  • normal: The default behavior, allowing the scroll snapping to stop at a point without strictly enforcing it during fast scrolls.
  • always: Guarantees that once a snapping point is reached, it will not be bypassed, even during vigorous scrolling.

Example Usage

To better understand how scroll-snap-stop fits into a project, let’s look at a simple example:

<div class="scroll-container">
  <div class="snap-point">Page 1</div>
  <div class="snap-point">Page 2</div>
  <div class="snap-point" style="scroll-snap-stop: always;">Page 3 (stop)</div>
  <div class="snap-point">Page 4</div>
</div>

.scroll-container {
  scroll-snap-type: y mandatory;
  overflow-y: auto;
  height: 100vh; /* Assuming full viewport height */
}

.snap-point {
  scroll-snap-align: start;
  height: 100vh; /* Each section takes full viewport height */
}

In this example, the third section Page 3 is designed with scroll-snap-stop: always;, ensuring that users are always halted at this point, irrespective of how fast they scroll through the content.

Why It’s Useful Today

The scroll-snap-stop property is especially beneficial in scenarios where skipping content can hamper user experience. Such cases include onboarding tutorials, standout promotional sections, or key informational content that needs to be highlighted on interactive applications or websites.

Caveats and Browser Support

While the introduction of scroll-snap-stop was a game-changer, developers should be aware of its browser support to ensure consistent behavior across different environments. As of October 2023, most modern browsers, including the latest versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, support this property. However, it’s recommended to check for any updates in their implementation specifics using reliable sources like MDN Web Docs or Can I use.

In summary, scroll-snap-stop adds a layer of control that enhances user interaction by strategically managing content visibility within scrolling interfaces. By understanding its use and limitations, developers can design more engaging and efficient web experiences.

Updated: