Above The Fold - Why Every Website Owner Needs To Know What This Means

It almost sounds like some kind of spiritual awakening, but nothing could be further from the truth.

There is a steep learning curve to be negotiated for the web design company that is creating your website, but one of the main things to bear in mind is what should go above the fold.

So what does this term mean?

In short, it means anything that can be seen in the first full screen of information as a website loads. Once you start to scroll down to see what else is on offer you are going below the fold, accessing information that cannot be seen when the website is displayed initially.

This may not sound like a big deal, but it can actually have a large bearing on how well your website is perceived by visitors – and even on how successful it is overall. This is because not everyone will bother to scroll down to view the rest of the home page. What this means is that your best information and most enticing offers need to be situated above the fold, where every single visitor can see them.

Let’s say for example you have a newsletter that you want to get sign ups for. If you have a sign up box on your home page it needs to be in full view as soon as the home page appears on the screen. Even if the visitor doesn’t scroll down to see more of your site, they may be tempted to sign up for a free newsletter if it appeals to them.

Basically instead of looking at your home page as being your golden opportunity to entice visitors to explore your site further, you need to look at just the first section of your home page as the prime spot for achieving this same purpose.
Think about what you want your site to achieve. What are your primary objectives when a visitor actually lands on your site? Do you want them to sign up for that newsletter? Do you want them to see the special offers you are promoting? Do you want them to be able to read a taster of your latest article?

Whatever your primary objectives are, you must make doubly sure that they are fulfilled on that first full screen that you have to work with – above the fold. If they aren’t, you could be missing out on a lot of custom.

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