I hate skeleton loaders. I usually see them implemented to "prevent" async-loaded elements from causing layout shift... the problem is the backend isn't set up to tell you how many things need to be loaded, what the size of those things are, so the skeleton just assumes some arbitrary values and sizes, takes up space in the layout, and when the loading finishes the layout still inevitably shifts, so the skeleton didn't even do its perceived job except make loading "prettier" (to someone obviously not me).
They cause me to defect. I used to use CNN.com every morning to check stock futures. But the skeleton loading screen takes an incredibly variable amount of time. Sometimes, it’s just a second, but often it’s longer. I don’t feel like sitting there waiting to find out so I switched to CNBC.com, which doesn’t seem to have that problem.
I am not a UI designer, but I don't know why content loads without changing the layout and then has a gentle animation to expand to the appropriate size.
the sudden shift is jarring, especially if the content is staggered
