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Above the Fold

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by Foti Panagiotakopoulos Founder at GrowthMentor

Table of Contents

Definition of above the fold

Above the fold content is any content on a web page that’s displayed immediately before the user scrolls down. The idea is for marketers to display their most important content above the fold so that people see it as soon as they land on the website.

Above the fold vs. below the fold

Any content that users need to scroll down to see is considered to be “below the fold”. Users are more likely to consume content that’s above the fold than below the fold.

The history of the fold

In the pre-internet era, journalists used “above the fold” and “below the fold” to describe where articles were placed in a newspaper. Most newspapers were displayed folded, and so journalists had to make sure that their main headlines were shown “above the fold” so that they’d be easy to see.

Above the Fold FAQs

Just like journalists used to put their main content above the fold so that they’d catch people’s attention and sell their papers, digital marketers put their main content above the fold so that they can display their most important content first.

In most cases, the above the fold section should include calls-to-action and whichever content is most likely to help you to achieve your business goals. Any supplementary information can be placed below the fold so that people can access it if they want to read more.

  • 81% of visitors look at the first paragraph on a webpage, but only 32% read as far as the fourth one. [SOURCE]
  • Web visitors spend 57% of their browsing time above the fold. [SOURCE]
  • According to Google, ads appearing above the fold have 73% visibility, while those below it have only 44% visibility. [SOURCE]
  • In 2022, the most common screen resolution is 1920×1080. [SOURCE]

The placement of the fold varies from website to website and device to device. It’s generally around 600 pixels beneath the top of the page, but that figure changes drastically if you switch from a desktop to a smartphone or from one browser to another.

One way to tell where the fold is for the majority of your visitors is to check your website’s analytics. It should provide you with information showing the most common screen dimensions that your visitors are using.

Another thing to bear in mind is that a lot of publishers have tried to game the system by pushing their ads above the fold and forcing the content of their website to below it. Google (and other search engines) have grown wise to that and have started penalizing websites that try to do it. Don’t get caught out!


Suggested mentors to help you make sense of Above the fold

John Ostrowski

Principal Growth Experiments at iTech Media

They call him Positive John for a reason, so much energy and enthusiasm and full of super helpful advice”. I worked in the dynamic environment of growth agencies and fast-growing product startups. The marketing journey started with analytics and applied statistics for conversions and grew up to Growth Experiments, my field of expertise.

Kuba Rdzak

Growth @ Juo.io | Growth Marketer & certified Team Manager • Top 1% CXL • Ex-Ladder.io

Hello! I’m Kuba and I’d love to help you grow and overcome challenges 🙂 I’ve spent 70+ hours helping Mentees. I also helped 150+ companies with finding PMF or GTM strategies, scaling paid ads (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.), PPC, tracking, CRO and marketing automation. Check my reviews and let’s meet! 🙂

Vassilena Valchanova

Digital Strategist & Trainer - Passionate about Content Marketing and CRO

I’ve spent more than a decade in digital marketing, with a primary focus in e-commerce and SaaS. My last role at a B2C SaaS startup with more than 500,000 registered users. Then I decided to go solo and work as an independent consultant on other exciting projects – and I always like to see new ones!

Matej Kukucka

Head of Marketing (grown $3mil -> $6mil SaaS business)

I am leading the marketing team of a bootstrapped SaaS company with 6 mil+ ARR.

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