Marketers are always concerned about “the fold”. The fold is defined as:
That part of a web page that can be seen without scrolling down.
The term comes from the newspaper industry, where editors and advertisers value the space in the upper half of the page more than the part that requires unfolding the newspaper.
For a web page, the location of the “fold” depends on the browser’s screen resolution, so it is different for different visitors.
src: IA glossary
Before the wheel mouse
Before mice had wheels, you would’ve had to go all the way to the right of the page with your gaze and your mouse. Then, carefully pull the scroll bar to the next section, move your gaze back to the centre of the page and continue reading. It was much more effort and time-consuming to scroll before mice incorporated scroll wheels. It was the belief that if all information wasn’t easily accessible from the moment a visitor landed on the page, they were pretty unlikely to bother at all with anything which wasn’t immediately accessible. That is why it was so important for marketers to have all the information within easy reach.
Do users scroll now?
Nowadays, users can use their mouse, trackpad, or finger to scroll from anywhere within the page to another place with little effort. Then, it would take a fraction of a section to get from one area to another. With some mice, it’s so simple it’s like gliding.
So it’s easier for users to move around a page, but are they bothering to scroll? The short answer is yes and no.
Visual cues
The design must be considered enough to encourage or incentivise the user to scroll. For example, a designer can do this by letting the user know there is more to come if they scroll a little farther.
It’s essential to also look at breakpoints. For example, if your google analytics says that most of your users are viewing your website on an 800x600px window, this doesn’t mean that you should only make your website this dimension. It simply means that if you have more information that would fit in this one scroll height, you should have a visual cue between the 500-700px mark that will let the user know there is more helpful information to be seen below.
The below example shows an excellent visual cue with more information below the fold.
src: thinknologies
Of course, having the most critical information at the top of the page is still important. But it’s not necessary to have all information there.