Above The Fold Content, Is it still important?
The web has come a long way in the last 5 years. New technology and best practices have had a fundamental impact on the
way we view the web, and how we build our websites often adapts to accommodate the current trends.
Over the years many best practices have died out to make way for new and improved techniques.
With all the changes to the way we view the web is above the fold content still important?
THE PROBLEM
The term above the fold originates from print media. It refers to the top half of the front page of a newspaper. Newspapers are often presented to their readers folded in half. The above the fold section is the first part of the newspaper to be seen by the reader. Most newspapers fill the space within the above the fold section with a headline to their top story or a visual image to catch the reader’s initial attention.
The term, however, is not only used for print media. In web development above the fold refers to the content of a webpage the reader can see before scrolling. Content that requires scrolling or further interaction to become viewable is referred to as below the fold.
WHAT MAKES ABOVE THE FOLD CONTENT IMPORTANT?
This highly discussed topic has many divided opinions. Many believe the fold is a myth, whilst others consider it as the most important section of a webpage. Not only is there a divided opinion on above the fold content, but the results from research on the topic also differ greatly leading to even further confusion.
One factor that cannot be ignored is that human behaviour is constantly changing and has transformed
significantly in the past 10 years.
Humans have a considerably short attention span that seems to be getting shorter every year.
Back in 2000 the average human attention span was around 12 seconds, since then it has dropped
by 4 seconds. Researchers are yet to discover the exact reason why. However, studies performed by
researchers at technology giant, Microsoft, have found a possible link between shorter attention spans,
increased mobile phone usage and easier access to digital content.
Is 8 seconds really that short of an attention span?
Goldfish are well known for having short attention spans, with an average attention span of only 9
seconds. So, as of 2016 the average human attention span is 1 second less than that of a goldfish.
Going by these figures you have around 8 seconds to hold the attention of a user once they have
landed on your webpage.
It is possible to grab the attention of a user reading below the fold. But when dealing with a
potential attention span of only 8 seconds, it makes sense to grab the attention of a user before they
have to interact with your webpage by scrolling.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES
I have selected Moz and Kissmetrics as fitting examples of quality above the fold content.
Both examples have easy to read clear headings that quickly describe the service that their websites provide.
They also both provide easy to use call to action buttons, encouraging the user to interact early on.
Many users may not be ready to commit to a decision of clicking a call to action button this early on.
To accommodate for users that are not ready to commit both examples have cut off content at the bottom,
this clearly indicates that there is an option to scroll and view a continuation of the content for further
information. This is good practice as not all displays and browsers have visible scrollbars.
IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR
I have successfully grabbed your attention or I may have discovered a new niche market of web developing goldfish.
There is also a good chance that you are reading this section with no appreciation of my goldfish reference;
as you may not have read the previous sections of this article.
Research has shown that the majority of users do actually scroll below the fold, but this does not mean you have
grabbed their full attention. Many users skim content.
Just because the above the fold content is the first content displayed to your user,
this does not mean you should neglect grabbing the attention of users below the fold.
ADVERTISERS VIEW OF ABOVE THE FOLD
Advertisers will often pay significantly more for advertisements located above the fold.
This is because they know that their advert will be seen by 100% of ther viewers landing on your
webpage, since interaction is not required to view the advert.
Is it good practice then to place advertising space above the fold?
This depends on the type of advert: if the advertiser pays per impression of their advert
it is a good place to put such an advert as it is always going to be seen.
However, if an advertiser is paying you based on the advert being clicked or an action being
completed on the advertisers’ website this may not be a good placement for this type of advert.
Take for example this article, when you finish reading you will be at the bottom of the page.
This is most likely the point where you will consider where to navigate to next.
Now it seems a bit counterproductive if a click through advert is above the fold.
DISPLAY SIZES AND ABOVE THE FOLD
People currently browse the web in multiple different resolutions and display sizes. When designing your above the fold content you will need to take this in to consideration.
The size of the above fold content is dependent on the display size.
Fortunately, modern webdesign techniques such as responsive and adaptive design provide
us with multiple possible solutions to solve this problem.
GOOGLE’S STANCE ON ABOVE THE FOLD ADVERTISING
As previously mentioned, advertisers will often pay more for adverts located above the fold. This is great,
but Google also has an algorithm called the ‘page layout algorithm’ which penalises websites for having too
many adverts above the fold. A little bit ironic considering Google’s advertising
solution Adsense promotes the usage of adverts above the fold.
Therefore, moderation is required.
Users also dislike having too many adverts above the fold as it can make the content difficult
to navigate; this is why Google penalises websites for doing so, as it affects user experience.
IS ABOVE THE FOLD CONTENT RELEVANT FOR ALL WEBSITES?
This is a good question. In the examples above we looked at two websites providing a service, but what about a blogging website?
If we take this website as an example: the article you are currently reading has a header title, a thumbnail
image and, depending on your display size, a snippet preview of the content contained in the article above the fold.
Most of the traffic that comes to this website is via social media networking or word of mouth.
Therefore, the attention of most of my readers has usually been grabbed before they even reach my above the
fold, at the source they navigated from. Interaction has already been made based on a preview of the content by most readers.
For example:
It is quite hard for blogs to have the same kind of above the fold impact as a website that provides a single service or product. You cannot just cram your whole blog post above the fold; you also do not want to create a landing page for a single blog post, especially if a user has specifically clicked on a link elsewhere to read your post. It would be unnecessary for a user to then need to interact with a landing page to proceed to the content, when they have interacted and shown interest once already.
SUMMARY
There are many things to consider with above the fold content. There are also many examples of why above the fold content can be unnecessary. However, we cannot ignore basic human behaviour patterns when designing websites; we are after all designing websites for humans, not goldfish or any other species.
