Working for a web design agency in London, I’ve learnt while most people are aware that web design is a tricky task, not everyone knows just how many little things have to be considered. It’s our job to make it all look easy so we turn ourselves in knots to provide the client with all the bells and whistles – text, photos, polls, enquiry forms and more – and we fully expect our users to stay long enough on the site to appreciate and use all this content. But the question is – do they? Is the ‘Myth of the Fold’ causing them leave the site without seeing a lot of this great stuff you spent so long creating without even giving it a go? In other words is what they’re NOT seeing overruling what they ARE seeing?
I can’t fit all my content above the fold!
Don’t panic! Firstly, let’s organize your content. Try to separate your information into the steps that you want the user to follow. You want the user to see who you are, then what you do and how to get in contact with you. Those three things are the most important messages on your website, and I think they definitely should be above the fold, as it will immediately tell the user that they are in the right place! Then hopefully that information will make them navigate throughout the site and keep reading your stuff.
Another point is to give your user some space to breathe – give them scope to understand your site and what you’re all about from the first glance, and I’m sure that they will naturally scroll down the page. Try and catch their attention immediately so they are driven to navigate the rest of the site. Use of outstanding graphics will do this, as well as headlines and well set out and concise information. For example in a travel website design you could use clearly defined destinations and images. Calls to action, headlines, and graphics that tell the story without any doubts are the main message in a website landing page.
When does the fold matter?
The most basic rule for every website is that the user should be able to understand clearly what your website is about, and what service, product or information you provide, simply by what is presented to them above the fold. This one simple truth should govern every aspect of your design from the very beginning. If a user has to scroll down just to discover what the site is fundamentally about, its success is unlikely. Apart from that though, you can challenge the myth of the fold and use the height of the page for rich content, as long as you can manage to drive the user to go from the top to the bottom of your page. Once you’ve achieved that and your user has reached the bottom of the page, why not reward them with a nice footer to make their life easier? All the important information that was on the top of the page can be rearranged on the footer making the website complete and interesting.
With a bit of practice and planning, the fold problem can actually be turned into a positive by generating more exciting and innovative ideas for your site design!
