Above the fold

Above the fold is the part of a web page you see without scrolling. The term comes from newspapers: the stories on the top half of a folded broadsheet were the ones people saw on the newsstand, so the most important news went there. On a website, the "fold" is the bottom edge of the screen when the page first loads.

Why it matters

Every visitor sees what is above the fold; only the ones who stay see the rest. That makes the first screen the place where the first impression is formed: within moments, visitors decide whether the page is clear, trustworthy and worth their time. Content further down still matters, but only for people who were convinced to scroll.

There is no single fold

Where the fold falls depends on the screen. A large desktop monitor shows much more of a page than a laptop, and a phone shows a narrow, tall slice in which elements are stacked on top of each other. A headline, image and button that sit side by side on a laptop can push the button below the fold on a phone.

So "above the fold" is always about a specific screen size. At StayOrBounce we use two common ones: a laptop screen of 1440 × 900 pixels and a phone screen of 390 × 844 pixels.

What belongs above the fold

• A headline that says what you offer
• Something that builds trust, like reviews or recognisable logos
• One clear next step, such as a button
• A hint that there is more below, so people scroll

Check your own first screen

The free above the fold checker shows exactly what fits on the first screen of your website on a laptop and on a phone.