What is pagination?

Pagination is the process of dividing a large data set into several pages (or chunks). It also allows navigation between several pages. This process is applied in search engines and yields many advantages for the user (i.e., the website visitor):

1. The user isn’t overwhelmed by the amount of unordered results (or data) on a single page, as only the most relevant chunk of items are displayed first.

2. Relevancy can be set according to the user’s need (e.g., price, popularity, date, etc.).

3. Information like the total number of pages, the current page, the highlighted history of previously visited pages, etc. contributes to the user’s awareness. Consequently, the user will know where to go next, and won’t waste time visiting the same page again and again. Pagination also lowers the load on short-term memory, which is a trait of a good user interface.

4. Quick controls (e.g., buttons to go to the previous, next, first, and ​last page, etc.) save a lot of time.