Just when we had convinced ourselves it was best to shove everything on our website above the fold, studies come out to prove us all wrong.  Over the last 6 years, CX Partners, a user-centric design firm located in the UK, has been conducting user testing to investigate if in fact the fold is as impenetrable as once believed.

How do they do it? CX Partners uses eye tracking technology to gauge what each user sees as they explore a web page.  The data from the studies is then combined to produce a series of heat maps showing overall user activity and behavior.

And… drum roll please… the heat maps show that a common place users look is the scrollbar.

No one can argue that the most effective place for content is above the fold, however these studies show that users are aware of the scrollbar, anticipate its use and are willing to scroll to find the information they need.

In over 800 user testing sessions, CX Partners found that in only 3 the fold served as a legitimate barrier keeping users from information below it.  CX Partners also conducted tests comparing two different home page designs- one with a large amount of content above the fold, and one with significantly less.  Results have shown that having less above the fold significantly encouraged more exploration below it.

In the same way newspaper readers are willing to open up the newspaper to find any below-the-fold content they seek, web users seem to be equally gifted.  An important thing to keep in mind, however, is that newspaper readers can easily explore print publications because features and columns are consistently located in the same location.  This sense of familiarity fosters the reader’s ability to find certain content, which is a concept that should also be replicated on the web.  Constantly changing content and updates are a website’s dream, however information layout and structure should remain somewhat “classic” as to not lead return users on frustrating wild goose chases.

But before you run off and build a proudly scrolling home page, there are a few additional things of which to be mindful:

• Don’t visually block your users in.  Strong horizontal lines near the fold will discourage scrolling, therefore avoid them.
• Give your users a peek.  Show the tops of some engaging content just above the fold to encourage them to scroll to discover it.
• Celebrate whitespace.  Don’t cram too much above the fold.  Larger monitors, and resulting wider website interfaces are opening up some new home page real estate- which does not mean you need to fill it.
• Avoid a scroll frenzy.  Just say no to in-page scroll bars.  The browser scrollbar lets the user know a page’s length.  In-page scrollbars only complicate the experience.

Need more proof?

Some pretty popular web sites are also proving that they stand up to the fold: http://www.newyorktimes.com , http://www.nfl.com, http://www.bbc.com, http://www.youtube.com , http://www.huffingtonpost.com , http://www.tmz.com and http://www.aol.com.

And be sure to check out how our home page will confidently let you scroll…