Below the Fold

Below the fold is the portion of a webpage that is not visible in the browser’s initial viewport and requires the user to scroll down to see, including all content, design elements, and calls to action positioned beyond the first screen view.

What Below the Fold Means in Practice

The term “below the fold” originated in print journalism, where newspapers were physically folded in half on newsstands. The stories above the fold were visible to passersby and had to grab attention. Everything below the fold was secondary. When the web adopted the metaphor, “below the fold” came to mean any content that doesn’t appear in the initial browser viewport, the area visible before a user scrolls.

Understanding below the fold requires understanding its counterpart. Above the fold is the content users see first when a page loads. Below the fold is everything else. The “fold” itself isn’t a fixed pixel location. It varies by device, screen resolution, browser chrome, and even whether the user has their browser window maximized. On a standard desktop monitor, the fold typically falls somewhere between 600 and 800 pixels from the top of the page. On mobile devices, it’s considerably higher, often around 500 to 600 pixels, because screens are smaller and browser toolbars consume more vertical space.

In practice, below the fold is where most of your page’s content lives. The initial viewport can only hold so much: typically a headline, hero image or video, a brief value proposition, and possibly a primary call to action. Everything else, including detailed product descriptions, supporting evidence, testimonials, pricing tables, secondary CTAs, FAQs, and footer navigation, sits below the fold. This isn’t a problem. It’s by design. The above-the-fold content earns the scroll. The below-the-fold content delivers the substance.

One of the most persistent misconceptions in web design is that below-the-fold content doesn’t get seen. This was arguably true in the early days of the web when users weren’t accustomed to scrolling. It’s not true today. Modern web users are trained scrollers, especially on mobile devices where the entire interaction model is based on vertical scrolling. Research consistently shows that the majority of users scroll below the fold on pages that give them a reason to. The question isn’t whether users will scroll. It’s whether your above-the-fold content gives them enough reason to.

For multi-location businesses, below-the-fold content strategy becomes particularly important on location pages and service pages. The above-the-fold section typically handles the essential information: location name, address, phone number, and primary service category. But the below-the-fold content, including provider bios, patient reviews, insurance information, before/after galleries, and detailed service descriptions, is what converts a casual visitor into a booked appointment. A healthcare practice with 50 location pages that neglects below-the-fold content is leaving conversion potential on the table at every location.

The relationship between below the fold and Core Web Vitals is also worth understanding. Content below the fold can be lazy-loaded (deferred until the user scrolls to it), which improves Largest Contentful Paint scores by prioritizing above-the-fold rendering. Images, videos, and interactive elements below the fold should use the loading="lazy" attribute so the browser focuses its initial resources on the content users see first. This is a standard performance optimization that directly impacts page speed and, by extension, search rankings.

Why Below the Fold Matters for Your Marketing

Below the fold is where persuasion happens. The above-the-fold content gets attention, but the below-the-fold content builds the case. Product features, social proof, detailed explanations, pricing information, and secondary conversion paths all live below the fold. If your below-the-fold content is weak, thin, or poorly organized, users who scrolled past your hero section with genuine interest will leave without converting.

According to research from the Nielsen Norman Group on scrolling behavior, users allocate approximately 57% of their page-viewing time to content above the fold and 43% below it. While above-the-fold content receives more attention per pixel, the data confirms that users do engage significantly with below-the-fold content. The practical implication: you can’t afford to treat below the fold as an afterthought. Nearly half of user attention is directed there.

Your conversion rate depends on below-the-fold content more than most marketers realize. Studies on landing page performance consistently show that longer pages with well-structured below-the-fold content outperform short pages for complex purchasing decisions. When a visitor needs to understand features, compare options, or see evidence of results before converting, the below-the-fold content does the heavy lifting. Stripping out below-the-fold content to keep pages “short” often reduces conversions because it removes the information prospects need to make a decision.

How Below the Fold Works

Below-the-fold content design follows principles rooted in user behavior, visual hierarchy, and technical performance.

Scroll engagement patterns. Users don’t scroll at a constant rate. They scroll quickly through sections that don’t interest them and slow down (or stop) at content that catches their attention. Effective below-the-fold design uses visual breaks, clear section headings, and content variety (text, images, testimonials, data points) to create multiple “stopping points” that re-engage users as they scroll. A wall of unbroken text below the fold will be skimmed or abandoned. A well-structured page with distinct content blocks will hold attention through the full scroll depth.

CTA placement strategy. A common question is whether calls to action should appear only above the fold or be repeated below it. The evidence supports repeating CTAs at strategic points throughout the page. Users who scroll deep into a page are often more engaged and closer to a decision than those who only see the hero section. Placing a CTA only above the fold misses these high-intent visitors. Best practice is to include a primary CTA above the fold and repeat it (or offer contextually relevant variations) at natural decision points below the fold, such as after a testimonial section, after a pricing table, or at the end of a feature comparison.

Content prioritization. Not all below-the-fold content is equal. The sections immediately below the fold should address the user’s most likely next question after seeing the hero content. If the above-the-fold section promises a solution, the next section should explain how that solution works. If the hero section makes a bold claim, the next section should provide evidence. The further down the page you go, the more specific and detailed the content can become, serving users who need more information before deciding. This creates a natural information architecture that mirrors the decision-making process: attention, interest, consideration, action.

Technical implementation. From a development perspective, below-the-fold content should be optimized for performance. Lazy loading images and videos below the fold prevents them from consuming bandwidth and rendering resources during the initial page load. Content prioritization through proper HTML structure ensures that above-the-fold content renders first, improving Interaction to Next Paint and overall Core Web Vitals scores. Responsive design is critical because the fold position changes dramatically between desktop, tablet, and mobile, so content that’s above the fold on desktop may be below the fold on mobile. Testing across devices ensures that your most important content appears where you intend it to, regardless of screen size.

External Resources

• Nielsen Norman Group: Scrolling and Attention — Research on how users distribute attention above and below the fold, with data on scroll depth and engagement patterns
• Google web.dev: Lazy Loading Best Practices — Google’s technical guide to implementing lazy loading for below-the-fold images and iframes
• Smashing Magazine: Designing for the Fold — Practical design guide covering above and below the fold layout decisions with modern best practices
• CXL: The Fold Manifesto — Data-driven analysis of why fold placement still matters for conversion optimization

Related Resources

• The Complete Technical SEO Audit Guide — How page structure and performance optimization, including below-the-fold content handling, affect technical SEO
• The Complete SEO Checklist — Covers on-page optimization including content structure, CTA placement, and Core Web Vitals performance
• Zero-Click Marketing — How above and below the fold content strategy adapts when search engines display more information directly in results

Related Glossary Terms

• Above the Fold: The portion of a webpage visible before scrolling. Above the fold and below the fold work together as complementary design zones, with above the fold earning attention and below the fold building the case for conversion.
• Core Web Vitals: Google’s set of page experience metrics. Below-the-fold content management, especially lazy loading, directly impacts Largest Contentful Paint and overall Core Web Vitals performance.
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action. Below-the-fold content quality and CTA placement are major factors in conversion rate performance on landing pages and service pages.
• Cumulative Layout Shift: A metric measuring unexpected layout movement. Improperly loaded below-the-fold content, such as images without defined dimensions, is a common cause of layout shift that degrades user experience.