Are you afraid of what lurks below the fold?

For years, we’ve heard the advice to keep content and calls to action (CTAs) “above the fold” on a web page. Certainly this made sense in the early days of the Internet – with its squawky dial-up sounds and slow-loading pixels. But today’s web browsers surf at lightning speed on a wide range of devices. So is there merit to keeping content above the fold? When you’re designing for smart phones and giant monitors and everything in between, does the “fold” even exist?

To answer this question, I looked to the past and then surveyed the most current web usability research. The reason I love creating for the web is it combines my analytical nature with my passion for design. Design may be seem subjective, but there’s much more science and research to it than one may think. This is particularly the case when it comes to usability.

Here’s what I found:

That advice is 20 years old

I first decided to find the source of the “above the fold” rule. Like many digital conventions, it started with a usability expert named Jakob Nielsen. It dates from web usability studies conducted from 1994 to 1996.

The rules changed soon after

Here’s what it says on the Nielsen Norman Group website:

“During the Web's first years, users often didn't scroll Web pages at all. They simply looked at the visible information and used it to determine whether to stay or leave …  In 1997, however, I retracted the guideline to avoid scrolling pages because users had acclimated to scrolling on the Web.”

Let me reiterate that last part: Nielsen retracted his recommendation 17 years ago.

Technology embraces the scroll

Since 1997, web users have become even more acclimated to scrolling – especially thanks to some changes in technology such as:

• The scrolling mouse: Commonly referred to as a web wheel or scroll wheel, it’s hard to find a mouse without scrolling functionality built in that allows you to easily scroll long pages.
• Touchscreens: Think about how you use your tablet and smart phone. You swipe – which is, essentially, scrolling. And it’s a lot easier than clicking little buttons to go to the next page.
• Screen resolution: 90% of visitors have a screen resolution higher than 1024 x 768 pixels. This is in sharp contrast to 2000, when only 4% of visitors had a screen resolution higher than 1024 x 768. (W3Schools.com)

One needs to look no further than Facebook, Pinterest and Google+ to see their thoughts on scrolling. When you reach the bottom of the page, more content is seamlessly loaded. “Infinite scroll" allows visitors to continue scrolling as long as there is content to be loaded.

Usability experts embrace the scroll

Reviewing usability research, I found a dizzying number of studies and statistics, most of which dealt with two issues: placement of content and placement of CTAs. Here are some of the most representative quotes:

• “Less content above the fold may encourage more exploration below the fold.” (CX Partners – The myth of the page fold: evidence from user testing)
• “Not much has changed in our observations since we released our original research on the subject (1998). Basically, users have no trouble scrolling, as long as the page is designed to accommodate it.” (User Interface Engineering – Utilizing the Cut-off Look to Encourage Users To Scroll)
• “Some marketers are obsessed with cramming everything at the top of the page because they are convinced that all of the important stuff needs to be seen before scrolling down. But are longer pages really that bad? That answer has been revealed time-and-time again: no, it’s okay (and even recommended) to have a longer landing page with plenty of copy.”  (Unbounce – 5 Landing Page Conversion Killers)
• “The web has evolved, behavior has evolved, and marketing needs to evolve too. Not only is the “fold” bigger now than it was, but the way people read your story has changed (if you know how to tell a story on a web page).” (Unbounce – Where’s the Best Place to Put Your CTA? [Case Study])
• “New visitors to your landing page may not know who you are and what you do. These people are less likely to be willing to commit to an action immediately as they need to know that you are reliable and trustworthy.” (Smart Insights – Where is the ‘best’ place to put your CTA?)
• "These statistics demonstrate that the vast majority of web designers are designing pages with scrolling, that the majority of users do scroll and that a significant portion of them scroll all the way to the page bottom. (Clicktale – Unfolding the Fold.)

In addition, you may want to review these case studies:

• Web Usability – Long landing page nets 220% more leads than above the fold call-to-action
• Marketing Experiments – Nonprofit Marketing: How a long, ugly page generated 274% more revenue
• Content Verve – How a variant with the CTA below the fold generated a conversion lift of 304%

Recommendations

So what is the ideal length for your page? The studies show it has nothing to do with where your content lives above or below the magical (and nonexistent) fold. It’s about what you put on the page that inspires visitors to take action. And your CTA should be below the right copy.

When in doubt, think about this:

• Scrolling is okay, even preferred.
• Compelling content inspires scrolling.
• Build trust and value before asking a visitor to take action.
• Use visual and contextual indicators to move visitors down a page.
• Page length should be as long as needed. Nothing more. Nothing less.