What Is Below The Fold?

Date First Published: 19th December 2022

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Design

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 4/10

CONTENTS

Importance
Do People Scroll Below The Fold?
What Is The Below The Fold Size?

Learn more about what below the fold is in this article.

Below the fold describes the lower part of a webpage that a visitor can only see by scrolling down. The term 'below the fold' comes from the time when newspapers were sold, displayed on newsstands, and had a physical fold in the middle of the page. Above the fold was the top half and below the fold was anything under. As web design evolved in the 1990s and content started to move online, the word 'below the fold' began to be used in web design to refer to the content located below the bottom of a browser window.

Importance

Below the fold content is hidden from visitors before they scroll down. If a visitor leaves the page without scrolling, they will never see the content below the fold. The content below the fold is much less likely to be viewed and is not the first thing that visitors see. Due to its decreased visibility, ads placed below the fold always generate less revenue and clicks than ads that appear above the fold. In web advertising, an impression is counted as viewable if at least 50% of its pixels appear on a visitor's screen for at least one second. Below the fold content is much less visible than the content that appears above the fold, so website owners should consider placing the most important content above the fold.

Do People Scroll Below The Fold?

Whether people scroll below the fold or not depends on a few factors. These include:

The page they are on.
Whether they are interested in the page.
What they need and are looking for.

What Is The Below The Fold Size?

When it comes to the below the fold size, there is no single size for a website and it is not possible to define a single fold placement. This is because there are a wide variety of monitor sizes, screen resolutions, and sizes of mobile phones and tablets, so the exact location of the fold will constantly vary on different devices. The below the fold size will also be determined by the length of the page as the longer the page, the larger the fold will be below the upper part of the webpage that a visitor sees before scrolling down.