Slideshows were once the shining stars of web design. You know the ones, rotating images or messages right on the homepage, often with fancy transitions and calls to action. They were meant to grab attention, show off multiple offers, and make a website feel dynamic. But fast forward to 2025, and the question is, do they still hold their sparkle?
The SEO Angle
When it comes to search engines, slideshows are not magic bullets. Search engines crawl text first, so if your slideshow is made up of images with little or no text, most of its content will not be seen by Google. Even with alt tags, slideshows can be a mixed bag for SEO. They might slow down your site if not optimised, which can hurt rankings, and multiple slides can dilute the message you actually want visitors to focus on.
User Experience Matters More
From a user’s perspective, slideshows are often ignored. Studies consistently show that visitors tend to focus on the first slide and rarely interact with the rest. That means all your beautifully crafted slides beyond the first one might go unseen. On the flip side, slideshows can feel cluttered, slow to load, and even distracting, especially on mobile devices.
When They Might Still Work
Slideshows are not completely out of the game. If you are showcasing a portfolio, telling a visual story, or need to display multiple high impact images without overwhelming the page, they can be useful. The key is simplicity: fewer slides, clear messaging, and fast load times.
Why I Tend to Avoid Them
In my own designs, I usually skip slideshows. I prefer a clear, single message approach, one strong image, one compelling headline, and one call to action. It is faster, more user-friendly, and often better for SEO. Visitors get the point immediately, and you do not risk them missing important content buried in a carousel.
The Takeaway
Slideshows are not inherently bad, they just need to earn their place. In 2025, user attention spans are shorter and SEO expectations are higher. For most websites, a clean, focused homepage without a rotating carousel is more effective than a flashy slideshow.
Keeping it simple, fast, and purposeful is usually the winning formula.