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Why we keep the 'Enable' switch even though image-picker choices are now deselectable

· 3 min read
Jon-Michael Lastimosa
Jon-Michael Lastimosa
Senior Web Developer

The question: Now that image-picker choices in the popover can be deselected (clearing the selection means "none"), should we remove the standalone "Enable page transitions" style switches across Site-wide UX and let "no image selected" mean "off"?

Context​

The Site-wide UX tab (Page Transitions, Cursor, Preloader, Smooth Scroll, Dark Mode, Scroll Progress, …) pairs an Enable X switch with the feature's controls. For the image-picker features — e.g. Page Transitions with its searchable Fade / Content Fade-Up / Zoom tiles — the picker recently gained a deselect gesture: clicking the selected tile clears it, storing "none". That raised a fair question: if "none" is now a reachable state, isn't the separate enable switch redundant? Deselect the transition → no transition → effectively off.

Options considered​

  • Remove the enable switch; treat "no image selected" as off. Fewer controls, one less thing to reason about, and "none" becomes a first-class member of the choice set. But it overloads the picker with two jobs — which variant and whether the feature runs at all — and only works for features that actually have an image to deselect.
  • Keep the enable switch as the master on/off; deselect stays a "clear my choice" escape hatch. One extra control per feature, but enablement and variant-choice stay orthogonal, and every feature in the tab toggles the same way.
  • Keep the switch, and for features where "none" is genuinely first-class, add an explicit "None" tile rather than leaning on the subtle deselect gesture. Best of both where it applies, without changing the enable model.

Decision​

Keep the enable switches. Deselect is treated as what it's best at — a "none / clear" option within the choice — not as the feature's on/off. Where "none" is a natural first-class member of a picker's set, we prefer adding an explicit None tile over repurposing the deselect gesture, but the master switch stays either way.

Why​

  • They answer different questions. The switch is "is this feature active at all?"; the picker is "which variant?" An image-picker with nothing selected means "enabled, but no transition chosen" — an in-between state, not a clean off. The switch says off unambiguously.
  • Deselect discards the user's choice. With a switch you can disable Page Transitions while keeping "Zoom" selected, then re-enable later with Zoom intact. If off means "no image selected", disabling wipes the configured variant and re-enabling forces a re-pick. Keeping enablement orthogonal to the choice is the more forgiving model.
  • Consistency across the tab. Most Site-wide UX features have an enable switch but no deselectable image — Smooth Scroll (sliders), Dark Mode (a mode select), Scroll Progress (a color). Removing the switch only where there's an image picker splits the tab into two mental models: some features toggle via a switch, others via a "clear the tile" gesture. Uniform switches are easier to learn.
  • Discoverability. "Enable page transitions: YES/NO" is obvious at a glance; "clear the image to disable" is a hidden affordance most users won't find. Deselect is a good escape hatch, not a good primary control.
  • Default direction. The switch lets a feature ship off by default while still offering a sensible preselected tile (Fade) once enabled. Without the switch you either default the feature on (a tile is preselected) or present an empty, uninviting picker.

Status​

Accepted — no code change; this ratifies the existing pattern and rules out the "deselect replaces the switch" simplification.