So I stumbled upon this article about designing above the fold for web design. It’s over two years old, but I felt that the content was compelling (foreshadowing) and wanted to share.

It highlights several examples of highly active links and site activity happening far beyond the traditional “fold” of a website.

The article also makes note of the fact that at best, any pixel height used is going to be a best practices guess due to varying browser toolbars, add on’s, bookmarks etc. I’m not suggesting we ignore the idea of there being information that is initially hidden from the guest when visiting a site, but rather we reevaluate our approach of what we necessarily need to place above the fold.

There most definitely needs to be relevant content above the fold, but we must be judicious in how, what and why we’re placing it there. And as this article notes that focus should be placed on the quality of content. If the user is engaged in content that flows below the fold they will scroll. It’s true in any form of story telling. We must first engage them before bombarding them with options they’re not ready for or messaging that possibly conflicts with what they expect.

The notion for placing information above the fold is for easier access, but if we overload the user with too many options all with visual weight for emphasis – the opposite effect is our outcome. Another great read here on managing UI Complexity that inspired some of these thoughts.  It speaks of progressive disclosure – menus, drop downs, clickable ares – to minimize confusion in an interface.

Now this brings up the notion of mental models and also how a site should behave for a return user vs. unique first time user. I’m beginning to ramble, but here’s what you can take away.

• Users do in fact scroll
• Quality of content not quantity of content should be emphasized for above the fold design
• Intelligent use of progressive disclosure can assist users in using your site