Having worked in the web design industry for about 13 years, I’ve witnessed the rise and fall of trends and technologies that change our behaviors and interaction patterns. Though I tend to know the industry’s current trends, many of my clients who are not immersed in digital product management have some assumptions about user behavior which may no longer be true.
With a wealth of knowledge and studies on common online behavior patterns available, it’s time to put to rest some common myths that still plague conversations on design. Let’s call it UX Mythbusting, homage to one of my favorite shows.
I’ve chosen three closely related topics to see if the assumptions hold true or not. Here’s the lineup of suspects I’ll explore in this series:
- The Fold: The myth of users and scrolling.
- People don’t read on the web: Or do they just read differently?
- Let’s make a new page: Linear navigation in an app-ready world.
Myth #1: The Fold
First, what is ‘The Fold’? A newspaper term referring to the information viewable above the folded portion of the front page, the fold is the most coveted real estate on the page reserved for top stories, breaking news and, of course, highly paid advertising.
When content began being translated to the web, early designs still clung to the concept of the fold, often stuffing “important” content on the top of the page so it would appear without scrolling. The concern was that users wouldn’t scroll and so any content below the fold would be missed. This concept spawned space-saving components such as accordions, carousels, and rotating banners.
Let’s go on the wayback machine and remember the Internet landscape of 2002. There were approximately two reigning browsers, monitor resolution was limited and predictable, and mobile browsing… well that was about five years away. Fast forward to 2015. We now have a varied landscape of screen sizes, a glut of browser toolbars and add-ons on desktop sizes, and, of course, mobile browsing. So what constitutes a standard viewport height to determine where the fold is?
OK, right now this myth is sounding pretty weak. We already know from print media that at some point people presumably read the content on the bottom of the page. Busted, right? Not so fast… Let’s look at some science.
ClickTale reports that in a sample of about 120,000 page views from around the web, “76% were scrolled to some extent” and “22% of the page views… were scrolled all the way to the bottom.”
In a 2013 study by Chartbeat, they observed an even more surprising behavior. “Many visitors scroll down the page before it finishes loading…” suggesting that scrolling is an ingrained user behavior. Furthermore, “About 50% of readers see 1500 pixels down the page on content pages,” and when they do get past “the fold” they tend to spend a longer time viewing the content.
But wait, what about this 2010 Nielsen Norman Group study that suggests “real estate above the fold is more valuable than stuff below the fold for attracting and keeping users’ attention?” If you read further, the study states that the information above the fold simply helps users decide if it’s worth scrolling down the page and that content creators need to emphasize priority on the page canvas.
How do we move on from this busted myth?
I chose these three studies among many and they all point to one conclusion. Myth busted! People actually do scroll. Let’s all accept it. So how do we move on? Here are some tips from the field.
First, emphasize a clear content hierarchy for scanability. Focus on your content, and design around a hierarchical structure to help your users with long content pages. If you don’t know what to prioritize, perhaps it’s time for an Information Architecture audit.
Next, assume users are reading your content on a small screen. Taking a mobile-first approach can help you prioritize necessary content, remove fluff, and help with a clear navigation schema. You do have a mobile content strategy, don’t you?
Lastly, if you’re still worried about long scrolls, give users an indication of page length. Though these can be designed to have a certain cool factor, the good ol’ browser scrollbar will probably suffice. Here’s an article from Viget Labs on the subject.
Hopefully I’ve helped set the record straight so we can move on from this old myth. Now that we can go beyond the fold, we have the ability to create thoughtfully crafted content, long or short.
About the Author
Jason Grant is a Lead Experience Architect at EffectiveUI, where he unites customer insights with business needs and translates them into compelling products. Outside of creating experiences for EffectiveUI’s clients, Jason volunteers his knowledge of the human-centered design process for social impact projects focusing on issues of sustainability.
About EffectiveUI
This article first appeared on the EffectiveUI blog.
EffectiveUI is the go-to UX partner for high-technology companies, including industry leaders within aerospace and aviation, biotech and healthcare, consumer and industrial electronics, defense, energy, financial services, software and telecom. In making technology more useful, useable and desirable, we help our clients reinvent significant aspects of their business? — ?from the experience they provide to customers, to the tools used to streamline operations, to the products brought to market. We work collaboratively with clients to solve complex business problems and drive transformation through four tightly integrated areas of expertise: user research and insight, digital strategy, UX design and UI development and integration. Learn more at effectiveui.com.
