Visitors decide whether to stay or leave your website in a matter of seconds, a study by Nielsen Norman Group discovered that visitors only take about .05 seconds to form a good or bad impression on your website.
This post will dive deeper into why a clear communication and a professional website design strategy can help your business increase conversions.
These are the topics we will cover:
- What does Above the fold mean to your website
- Why is important to have an intentional Above the Fold website design.
- Above the Fold best practices
- Actions you can take to increase conversions
- Above the fold in mobile website design
What does “Above the Fold” mean to your website?
Above the Fold is the term used to describe the Website Design portion that is shown to users when they first land on your website. This usually is your home page.
The Above the fold is the top and most important part of the website and is responsible for creating a good or bad first impression.
Visitors do judge a Website by it’s cover!
Here’s a heat map of how a user’s eyes follow while navigating a website:
The term “Above the fold” originated from the newspaper industry. When newspapers are fold in half to display them, they place the most important content above the newspaper’s fold, influencing readers to buy a piece of newspaper. It has then become common practice to place the most compelling story and images right above the fold.
During the early Website Design years, this term was then transferred from newspapers to websites.
Why is the Above the Fold important to your Website Design?
When users land on your website, they initially expect to find the information they need as soon as possible. If your website design does not clearly communicate information of value, your visitors will leave right away. You want to invite visitors to keep scrolling down your website.
The most important statement about your company and the actions a user needs to take should be stated in the Above the Fold section. This increases the chances of visitors exploring the rest of your offerings.
This is where a great Website Design comes into play, you want to impress with images/graphics, connect with video and Sell with words. The better visitors understand your offer and the above questions the better they are position to make a conversion.
Above the Fold best practices
We have stablished that Above the fold is crucial so that visitors are invited to continuing scrolling down your website. This are some common practices that most business owners don’t take into account when creating a new Website Design:
- Create clear and simple copy or website content that speaks directly to your target audience.
- Use language that resonates with your audience, addressing their specific needs and interest.
- Create a call to action, guide your visitors to the next step they should take to purchase or contact your company.
Not sure what to write in the above the Fold? Answer these questions in the best posible manner, try to think of the answers your customers will be looking for.
- What is your offer?
- How does your offer make your visitor’s life better?
- What sets you apart from your competition?
- What do your visitors need to do to buy from you?
What is your company’s Offer? Your business proposition or promise to your potential customers should be stated right away in your website’s Above the fold. Why is your promise valuable and how does it solve your customers problems.
The goal is to grab your customer’s attention quickly, helping them understand why they should contact or buy from your business.
Actions you can take to increase conversions
To increase your website’s conversion you want to step back and analyze your Business online strategy. Having done so, determine if your Website Design is in alignment with your Offer and sales process. Consider optimizing or taking a closer look at the following:
- Optimize your call to actions. Use clear language in buttons and links to guide your visitors to take the next step in your sales process.
- Improve your website Above the fold Message. Clearly state your offer and how does it make your customer’s life easier. Your competitive edge.
- Check your website’s loading speed. Nobody likes a slow loading website, if this is the case the above actions won’t matter since your visitors will be gone before you know it.
- Build trust and social proof. Include testimonials and reviews right from the start to boost credibility. Check out our Reviews System
- Make sure your website design looks sharp across all platforms, cellphones, tablets and multiple computer monitors. Impress with images, Connect with videos and Sell with words!
- Highlight benefits over features. Focus on your products or services benefits over technical information.
Above the Fold in mobile website design
The scrolling concept started and has been gaining ground on mobile platforms. So above the fold principles apply to mobile website design more than any other platform. For mobile devices, space is limited, making it crucial to present key information in an easy and simple to read manner. Here’s a few things to consider when creating a Website Design for mobile versions:
- Prioritize your main message or offer. Place your value proposition at the top to capture attention instantly.
- Keep the text to a minimal amount, use short, impactful text and avoid cluttering.
- Use a Strong Call to Action. Encourage quick engagement, you can try actionable words like: Call Now, Sign Up, Shop Now.
- Avoid Pop Ups. They usually harm user experience on mobile devices. Opt for subtle notification bars instead.
- Optimize images for mobiles. Use high quality and fast loading images but keep the file sizes small to maintain website speed.
- Test across multiple devices. Try to load your website on your cellphone and navigate it as if you are a customer. This alone will give lots of feedback. Adjust according to what you would want your customers to experience on your website.
A well-designed Above the fold section on mobile helps users quickly understand your offer, keeps them engaged, and guides them to take action.
