Dead Website Trends: Unfolding the Logic Behind “Above the Fold,” and Why It’s No Longer Relevant
Pyxl Development
Pyxl Development
The section of your website traditionally referred to as “above the fold” is the first impression you make on a viewer. In the past, the importance of cramming all must-see information into this section of a page has been stressed. While it is very important that the first thing your reader sees is visually engaging and reflects the content hosted on your site, the goal of this section should be to draw a reader in further. Not to assault them with all the content you have. This means the “above the fold” area of a webpage isn’t the end-all-be-all that has been stressed in the past.
What is “Above the Fold” and why was it a good thing?
The phrase “above the fold” comes from the seemingly long-ago days of printing newspapers. If a story was important, it made the cut above the fold of the paper – the first section people would see. The origin of this phrase should be an indicator of how dated the importance of this concept is. While it is still important for the “above the fold” section of your website to be visually engaging (and can we just get with the 21st century and call it “above the scroll”), it’s a false idea that all relevant content must live here or it won’t be seen by website visitors.
Why? Here are a few reasons…
Why “Above the Fold is dead
Variety of screen sizes and types
We no longer live in a world where there is a “standard” screen size. Website traffic comes from many different devices (each with different screen dimensions), throwing the idea of content being “above the fold” out the window. Additionally, what’s valuable to each user differs depending on the device. A website visitor on a desktop computer may be looking for things like engaging visuals and interesting modules to be the first aspect of a website they encounter. A mobile user may want quick facts like contact information or to-the-point directions to be in their immediate line-of-site. The different sizes and types of screens speak to the varying information website users find valuable. The only way to ensure that every user finds what they are looking for is to make your entire site engaging, beyond the fold.
Popularity/necessity of scrolling
Data from 2 billion visits found that 66 percent of attention on a normal media page is spent below the fold, according to Chartbeat, a data analytics provider. Further, research from Luke Wroblewski, an internationally recognized digital product leader, shows that half of mobile users start scrolling within 10 seconds, and 90 percent of them scroll within 14 seconds.
Bottom line: website users are scrolling. If they are interested in the content or offer that your website has, they will scroll beyond the fold, giving you much more room and opportunity to impress and engage them.
Mobile users
The amount of users who visit a website on their mobile device has grown and will continue to grow in the future.
Research from statista shows that in 2016, 43.6 percent of worldwide website traffic was generated through mobile devices. As of 2017, half of all global web pages served are through mobile, a 24.2 percent increase from the amount of mobile users in 2015.
The amount of valuable information that can be squeezed into the upper half of a mobile fold is close to nothing. Most mobile users are prepared to scroll, widening the importance of your entire mobile layout, not just the screen that is shown to users the second they open your website.
Savvy digital users
The digital space is full of savvy, avid web surfers learning and looking for predictable patterns in the content they consume. Many users are used to the setup of websites and know where to go for the information they seek. They know to immediately scroll to the footer for “Contact Us” information or to skim through content looking for a “CTA button” that relates to the content they’re looking for. To create a website that is relevant to your audience, you have to know your audience. Pairing your website layout with their knowledge of how to navigate a site is distinctly more important than cramming content into a designed space.
What it all boils down to…
While the idea that all truly important information must be above the fold is no longer relevant to today’s digital users, it’s important to ensure that your entire website is visually engaging while offering relevant content, both above and below the fold. Above the fold should no longer be a main focus for website optimization, but there are many other tactics to focus on as well. We have highlighted a few for you in our blog post, 5 Website Trends in 2017.
Questions, ideas, thoughts? We’ve been there. Reach out to us!
Does this seem overwhelming? We recently revamped our own website, read our blog Hitting the Refresh Button: What We Learned from Our Own Website Redesign, for insight on taking steps to update your website.
Check out our other recommendations in this blog series about Dead Website Trends.
Updated: Apr 13, 2022