The digital world’s an exciting place to work. One of the most exciting aspects is the constant evolution of technology, design, devices, the list can go on and on. This constant change means that there’s always something new to learn. It also means digital properties and the strategy behind them need to evolve.

I use the term “Digital Ecosystem” a lot when talking about digital properties. It’s something my wife rolls her eyes about but is important when thinking about the digital world. Just like a physical ecosystem constantly evolves, digital ecosystems need to evolve as well. Often digital change is attributed to the release/adoption of new technology (other times it’s caused by a tweak from a product or platform people already use — *cough* Google, Facebook, Twitter *cough*).

I love the discovery and design phases of digital projects. It’s where I really get to dig in and understand how the organization works. What hurdles they face. What personalities drive them (and/or hold them back). It’s a fascinating exercise. At some point during one of these two phases, there’s typically a conversation about “the fold.”

What’s “the fold?”

“Above the fold” is a term that I’m sure most people have heard. It dates back to the early days of newspapers and references the content that appeared on the top half of the first page. The content that acted as a billboard for the paper when it was folded in half and laid on a table. Newspapers today still spend lots of time ensuring this content is as interesting and attention-grabbing as possible. The “above the fold” mindset became part of the discussion around digital properties in the early days as well. Since then, it’s continued to be a part of the design and content conversation.

This mindset needs to be evaluated as more and more users get their information online from an ever-growing number of devices. Unlike physical newspapers (still being folded in half and displayed showing only the “above the fold” content) the digital space has changed a lot since the early days. Think about it. Today users can change the size of the font and zoom level of their devices. They use different sized monitors. They hold mobile devices horizontally and vertically. There are dozens of different screens that users can consume digital content on. This list can go on and on too. All of these variables mean that my digital fold is probably different from your digital fold.

So, there’s not really a fold?

Every day the digital fold becomes more fluid. I’m not saying the content at the top of digital properties is less important now than it was 5 or 10 years ago. I’m saying that the strategy for this content should evolve. More users scroll. It’s a fact and something that the Nielson Norman Group explored in a study published this year. Anecdotally, it’s a trend that I’ve seen first hand with my clients when I use scroll tracking and heat mapping.

One of my clients (a membership organization) spends a lot of time thinking about the content that’s “above the fold” on their homepage. I recently worked with them to redesign that homepage. It featured a slider at the top that acted as their billboard to members. The slider was a constant internal fight because their teams believed that having content in the slider was the best way to highlight it and meant that more people would see it and therefore engage with it.

As part of the discovery phase, I conducted focus groups with various members of the organization. We talked about a lot of different aspects of the digital experience but focused on the homepage a lot. They all said they scrolled past the top slider immediately because they thought that content was for potential members or the general public. They already knew what they wanted and who the organization was, so they didn’t think they needed the information in the slider. In reality, the organization used the slider for members only content as a quick way to get members to the content. Needless to say, this realization changed the strategy of the content at the top of the homepage.

The billboard that used to exist “above the fold” now extends below the fold.

All strategy’s different, so there’s not one answer to this question. Each organization has different goals, audiences, etc.. With that being said, let’s look at a couple of reasons why content at the top (“above the fold”) matters today even as audiences scroll more often.

Speed is a real concern and can’t be ignored. Not only do users give digital content a fraction of time to appear before jumping to another digital property. Slow content can also result in negative ranking factors from Google (here’s another post about why page speed matters). Oh yeah, and then there’s Google’s Mobile Index. Check out this post from Crazy Egg that details the Google Mobile Index if you’re not familiar.

Speed impacts usability, but let’s discuss other factors as well. A good digital strategy needs to be all-encompassing (or omnichannel). The important thing about a good strategy is ensuring that users can interact with your organization where they’re most comfortable. Not only on what digital property they’re most comfortable but what device (and screen size) they’re most comfortable using. This goes back to one of the main reasons users scroll more, screens have changed and continue to change. There are lots of design strategies that nudge users to scroll. These are the norm now and worth considering.

Audience behavior is something that needs to be examined as well. In the above example, the organization thought the content at the top of the page was clearly for one type of users. Those users thought it was for another group of users. This lead to valuable real estate at the top of their homepage becoming less valuable. When thinking about content and what goes where it’s important to use hierarchy on pages. To understand who’s visiting what pages and what they’re looking for. This includes understanding how different user groups use digital properties.

Yes, content at the top matters today as much as it has in the past. Content is king and content that resides at the top of a page is king of the hill.  That content doesn’t need to be limited by an imaginary fold anymore. It can and should work with other content to tell the full story.