How Important Is Above the Fold Content?
October 30, 2009
Above the fold content may sound a little nostalgic, since it’s origins are from a more traditional media - the newspaper. Website developers use this term to describe the content that a person can see on the screen without using the vertical scroll bar. There is a constant struggle in website design to produce a “wow” factor through the use of graphics and images without crowding out space used for text.
Several studies indicate that, while above the fold real estate on your website is still the premium real estate, we can relax a little in our quests to create eye catching designs with content in that prime space. Eye mapping studies show that website users are accustomed to scrolling to read the content on a page, and actually check the vertical scroll bar as a measure of how much content that might be. To take a look at some interesting eye-mapping data, please read this study from a web development company across the pond (in the UK).
It is however, important that your website give cues appropriately that there is additional content on the page. Design elements such as horizontal bars of color indicate the bottom of a web page, and should be avoided mid-page.
Vertical Scroll Bar and Glimpse of Content Are Good Visual Cues