Strange URLs appearing in the address bar? Don't be alarmed

A strange anomaly is happening in some web browsers when scrolling through Mental Floss. As one glides down the article, the URL in the address bar changes rapidly. When scrolling back up, it changes back to the previous URL. Such an occurrence will likely upset some users as they think something fishy is going on with their computer.

Apparently, some web designers have implemented automatic URL loading as the users reach the end of the article in order to bring them to new content. Top websites like Vice Magazine also implement this tactic to get more views.

The location.hash feature in Javascript is what allows web programmers to implement this feature. It is also dependent on users bookmarking their articles so that the proper URL will be displayed. Since hashtags in URL have been overused by these websites in Ajax, this is where such graphical errors are more likely to occur.

On the other hand, Vice and Mental Floss may be using the History JavaScript library. This library is particularly evident since the URL in question does not use hash marks. With the pushState function within the site's source code, they are able to change the title and subdirectory in an instant. With the combination of History#replaceState() and History#pushState(), it allows the URL change to happen on the same page.

Within WordPress, similar events may be triggered with pagination. This can be used with the Infinity Scroll scroll feature, which is likely implemented within many plugins. Many smaller blogs are likely to use this feature to keep up with large news websites. On the other hand, it may be abused for traffic statistic manipulation for advertisers.

With infinite page websites, even large news portals can become single page websites. The smooth scrolling will be especially popular with mobile users as they may casually thumb through articles without worrying about new pages loading. When the endless scrolling will push new URLs in the address bar, it will make it easier for users to copy and paste the address to share on social media or email. The only drawback is that the footer of the website won't be utilized. For more information click here https://i.redd.it/a4jl3129uxr01.gif.