September 12, 2007

In design speak the “fold” is the location of the website at which the visitor needs to scroll to read further. “Above the fold” is a term commonly used by editors and web designers to prioritize important headlines to the user.

My experience shows that most web designers have a preconceived notion that any content of value needs to be displayed above the fold. I believe that this preconceived notion should be challenged since many of the underlying reasons are out of date.

The fold is inconsistent

The location of the fold on the page varies widely for many reasons, notably:

• screen resolution
• default font size
• browser window size
• the browser itself
• toolbars installed in the browser

Usability

The question here is not the placement of content. Important and prominent content should be large and near the top of the page, no question about that. Rather, the question is:

Does the scrollbar present a usability problem?

Back in the digital-ice-age, when web pages and computer documents were new, Yes, scrollbars were a usability concern. However, it’s consistent use and implementation across word processors, operating systems, and web browsers have alleviated this concern.

Jakob Nielson, or as I call him, “The Man,” wrote specifically about scrollbar usability back in 2005, and comments:

On the Web, users expect vertical scrolling. As with all standard design elements, it’s better to meet user expectations than to deviate.

Jakob Nielson

So, I must conclude that vertical scrolling is not a usability problem provided it is implemented in a way that is consistent with system scrollbars. Horizontal scrolling is abominable and should be avoided at all costs. Redesigning the scrollbar with flash is an insane practice and should never be considered.