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So it happened again. Another client asks to have everything above the fold. Since the term “above the fold” has its roots in newspapers, I can’t help but draw the newspaper analogy.
If the goal was to have everything above the fold, then newspapers wouldn’t be folded. To ask to put everything above the fold on your website is like the newspapers switching to a half-height format.
The next thing I say is, “Yes, we can put everything above the fold, by cutting back on content.” Most clients get that I’m being sarcastic: what’s the point of having a website if you just remove all the content from it?
Should you worry about content being above the fold? Absolutely. Put the most important content there. Put the hook there. That’s what the space is reserved for- both in print and web. But the space above the fold is NOT the only space on your site. Web browsers have scrollbars for a reason, and really: people don’t mind using them. If the client demands to put the content above the fold (or any other equally bad request), challenge them. Ask them how many sites they actually visit on a regular basis with all of the content fitting within 400-600 pixels of height. You can be pretty sure that number is close to zero: with that little content WHY would they need to go back? You can memorize that much information. If it’s a quality client, you won’t offend them by challenging them: They hired you because they know they don’t know what they’re doing.
It seems so many people (web people included) get so caught up in the details of launching a website that they lose sight of the end goal. Whether that goal is to sell online, publish articles, direct visitors to another medium or anything else, one thing is constant: a site needs content. Without content, your visitors have no reason to come back, no motivation to delve deeper. A new visitor to your site is a blank slate. Before they pick up the phone to call, fire up their email client to write, or convert in any way whatsoever, they are going to read your content. And if it ain’t there, they ain’t biting.
/rant.
Update (6-27-2009): A first-time reader has contacted me via email to point out a great example of a site that balances above/below the fold design very well: bounceenergy.com The call to action is placed directly above the fold, while rich content is placed below the fold. Thanks, Dan!
Update (12-17-2009): Emily Balog over at Brooks Bell just wrote an article with lots of facts and fancy graphs on the same topic. I recommend you check it out for the actual facts behind the “fold”: http://blog.brooks-bell.com/2009/12/forget-what-you-think-you-know-about-the-fold#more-351
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