eMedia Daily

“Above the Fold” in a Web-Design World

In my early design classes (which were actually newspaper design), we clearly discussed the concept of “the fold.” The fold is the center line of a newspaper on which the front page is folded. Stories above the fold were read more often than stories below the fold. We also learned how to use design elements (columns, images) to encourage readers to un-fold the newspaper and read more of the front page, and to use tags to get people deeper into the newspaper.

Web design, especially as we’ve become more astute, has really taken the elements of newspaper design to heart. Design features are loaded more at the top of the page, and advertisers clamor for those “top” positions, assuming that being at the top of the page will generate more clicks. In “Where is Above the Fold In A Web 2.0 World?”, Stephen Welman discusses the results of a study that show that people do, in fact, scroll in their browser windows. He also provides an interesting insight into how we define where the fold is on the multiple variations of screens.

Is “above the fold” still a valid design technique for user-designed sites? Probably so. That does not, however, give designers permission to ignore the rest of the page. Cramming too many elements into the upper echelons of the site slows load times, complicates viewing for screen readers, and can easily drive traffic away from your site as the readers are bombarded by too many messages in too small of a space.

Another great element, however, that we did get from newspaper design, is the tagging for more reading. That’s the little note at the bottom of the story that says “See Opportunity on A7.” We use these all the time in web design, as we break up content on multiple pages. Again, this minimizes load time and scrolling. It also provides more page views (and ad impressions, if that’s something your site depends on), and allows you to find out more about what your readers are truly engaging in. If you have a 3 page article, with a 3rd page that is never viewed, you know that your users have either found the information that they are looking for, or they’ve simply lost interest.

What are your favorite former print design elements that have made their way online?