Feedback tabs, buttons and widgets: what they are called

What is the feedback panel on the side of a website called?

It is usually called a feedback widget. The slim "Feedback" label stuck to the edge of the screen is a feedback tab (or feedback button), and the panel it opens is a slide-out feedback form, sometimes called a feedback drawer.

• Feedback widget - the general name for any small feedback form on a web page
• Feedback tab - a vertical "Feedback" label docked to the left or right edge
• Feedback button - a floating button, usually in the bottom-right corner
• Slide-out panel or drawer - the form that slides in from the side when the tab is clicked
• Slide-in survey - a card that appears by itself, for example when a reader reaches the end of an article
• Website survey or overlay - the names product and research teams tend to use

A feedback tab is not a sidebar. A sidebar is a column of links or related content next to the main text. A feedback tab floats over the page and only opens when someone clicks it.

What is a feedback widget?

A feedback widget is a small form on a web page that asks visitors a short question about that page, such as "Was this article helpful?", and sends the answers to the site owner.

It can sit at the end of the content, wait behind a tab or button, or slide in at a set moment. The questions and results live in the tool that provides the widget, so you can change what it asks without editing the page.

What is the difference between a feedback tab and a feedback button?

Very little: both stay on screen and open a feedback form when clicked. A tab is usually a vertical label in the middle of the left or right edge. A button usually floats in a bottom corner, like a chat launcher.

• Side tab - stays out of the reading area and leaves the corners free for chat and cookie banners
• Corner button - easy to reach with a thumb on phones, but shares the corner with chat tools

What is a slide-out or slide-in feedback form?

A slide-out form opens from the edge of the screen when someone clicks the feedback tab. A slide-in form appears by itself when the visitor does something, such as scrolling to the end of an article.

A slide-in reaches people who would never look for a tab, so time it well: show it at a natural pause, such as the end of the article or a finished task, not on page load or as the visitor leaves.

Why do news sites and blogs have a feedback tab?

To learn what readers think of a specific article: whether it was useful, clear or up to date. Page views and scroll depth show that people read something, not whether it helped them.

Publishers usually ask one quick question, then offer an optional comment. Each answer is tied to the article it came from, so editors can see which pieces need an update or a follow-up.

Where should a feedback button go on a website?

A side tab goes in the middle of the right edge and a floating button in the bottom-right corner. On articles and docs, the end of the content works too. Use one per page, away from chat launchers and cookie banners.

• Articles and docs - at the end of the content, or a slide-in when the reader gets there
• Marketing and pricing pages - a corner button or a side tab
• Web apps - a side tab, or a dialog right after someone finishes a task
• Phones - open the form as a bottom sheet with a clear close button

Does a feedback widget need cookie consent?

Under EU rules it does if it stores or reads anything on the visitor's device that isn't strictly necessary, such as cookies that remember who answered or track behaviour. A widget that sets no cookies and stores no identifiers needs no consent banner.

Asklet sets no cookies and stores no IP addresses, so its widget does not need a consent banner.

Which tools can add a feedback widget to a website?

Behaviour analytics suites, enterprise feedback platforms, on-page survey tools, bug-reporting tools and focused feedback widgets such as Asklet can all add a feedback tab or button to your site.

• Behaviour analytics suites, such as Hotjar - feedback widgets next to heatmaps and session recordings
• Enterprise feedback platforms, such as Qualtrics or Mopinion - feedback across websites, apps and email at scale
• On-page survey tools, such as Qualaroo - surveys targeted by visitor behaviour
• Bug and product feedback tools, such as Usersnap - screenshots and issue reports
• Focused feedback widgets, such as Asklet - a short survey on each page, with results per page

Choose by the job. If you mainly want to know what visitors think of each page, a light widget is enough, and you avoid the tracking that comes with a full analytics suite.

How do I add a feedback tab to my website?

Create a short survey in a feedback tool, then paste its snippet into your site template with a few lines of HTML and CSS that pin a "Feedback" tab to the edge of the screen.

• Write one or two short questions
• Add your website and copy its snippet
• Paste the side tab code into your site template, before the closing </body> tag
• Test it on one page, then publish

With Asklet, the side tab, floating button and slide-in are copy-paste HTML around one iframe. The same snippet shows the right survey on each page, picked by its path.