Little Glossary · Web and conversion
Above the fold
Above the fold is the part of a web page you see when it loads, without scrolling. It is the first impression: what visitors read before deciding whether to keep scrolling or leave.
Where it comes from
The phrase comes from newspapers: on a paper folded in half, whatever sat "above the fold" was the only thing visible on the newsstand. On the web, the fold is the bottom edge of the screen when the page loads.
What the data says
A 2018 Nielsen Norman Group eye-tracking study found that users spend about 57% of their viewing time on the first screen and around 74% on the first two. People do scroll, but only when what they see at the top gives them a reason to.
What usually goes on the first screen of a B2B tech website
- A headline that says what the product solves and for whom, without jargon.
- A subheadline that makes the main benefit or use case concrete.
- One clear call to action (demo, free trial or contact) and, at most, a secondary one.
- A trust signal: customer logos, a figure or a rating.
- A product image that makes sense without explanation.
Common mistakes
- Designing for a single fold. There isn't one: it changes with every device and window size. Check the first screen on a 13-inch laptop and on a phone.
- Cramming everything at the top. Too many messages compete for attention and none lands.
- Auto-rotating carousels. They hide messages, and most users only see the first slide.
- Heavy images. If the main image loads slowly, LCP gets worse, and LCP is one of the Core Web Vitals.
Related terms
Sources
- Nielsen Norman Group, Scrolling and Attention (2018).
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