The term “fold” was originally used in the print industry, specifically applied to newspapers. The fold is used to describe the area of content on the front page that’s visible before needing to unfold the paper to read the rest of the article. So, editors always placed their most marketable content above the fold to capture the attention of those walking by news stands.
Somehow this term has made a migration to the vernacular of the web. Marketers and consultants started pushing it, and as a result many clients think that if their content is going to be seen, it needs to be shown in the ~600 pixel high area that most common screen resolutions can see before users have to scroll. This has resulted in a lot of cluttered websites with ruined designs and terrible information hierarchy. Let’s tackle a few misconceptions about the fold so we can prevent such travesty from happening to you!
Myth 1: “Users don’t know how to scroll!”
A very interesting statement considering you most likely had to scroll to read this paragraph. It was the content that shaped your interaction with the page! In a study on user scrolling, ClickTale found that 91% of the page views were long enough to contain scroll-bar. Of those, 76% were scrolled to some extent. As it turns out, scrolling is not a secret ability only gifted to a select few, users know how to scroll and they are doing it with reckless abandon!
Myth 2: “If it’s not above the 600px mark, they won’t see it.”
In today’s web, the fold is so varying that even if you plan your content to fit inside a certain pixel height, monitors and devices used to access the web range from small resolutions on phones to large resolutions on many of today’s laptops and widescreen displays. In the ClickTale study, a 600px fold was useful for less than 10% of the cases.
Myth 3: “The more content above the fold the better!”
I won’t preach on the value of whitespace today, but the more content you try to shove into a small amount of space, the less clear, and understandable it’s usually going to be. CX Partners did a great eye tracking study showing that less content above the fold actually encourages users to scroll the rest of your page.
Takeaways
1) Be more concerned about the quality of your content than where it’s positioned. Layout is definitely important, and your main call to action should usually be prominent to the user, but you don’t have to shove every piece of content on your homepage into a certain area for users to read it, in fact, they’re more likely to skip it entirely if you do so.
2) Use that content to guide your users down the page. Here’s an example of how, while also further enforcing the point that scrolling is not the next mutation of the black plague. Even though it’s simpler than your website might be, you can still use the same techniques to encourage users to channel their inner Christopher Columbus and explore your content.
3) There are good things we can take away from “the fold.” The top of the page is still the most effective place for content. Make sure on an initial visit it’s clear what your message is and what the user needs to do next. Just like newspaper headlines, if your main content isn’t carefully crafted, it’s unlikely they’ll “buy the paper” and explore the rest of your site.
Here are some resources I used in writing on the fold and some other helpful links if you’re interested in reading more on the topic. If you have anything to add feel free to comment!
Unfolding the Fold
ClickTale Scrolling Research Report V2.0 Part 1
How to Discuss “the Fold” with a Client
The Myth of the Page Fold: Evidence from User Testing
