What is Above the Fold?
The portion of a webpage visible without scrolling. The 5-second pitch that determines whether visitors keep reading.
Also known as: hero section, first scroll
Above the fold refers to the part of a webpage visible in the initial viewport — what the user sees before scrolling. The term comes from print newspapers (the headline above the physical fold of the paper had to sell the issue).
The modern fold is dynamic — different viewports have different fold positions. On a 13-inch laptop the fold is around 600px; on a phone it's around 760px; on a 27-inch monitor it's around 900px. Designers should think about the fold for the median visitor (usually mobile) and then make sure the next-most-common viewports also work.
What lives above the fold should be: one clear headline, one supporting subhead, one primary CTA, and one trust signal (rating, logo, badge). Five competing CTAs above the fold means the visitor has too many choices and bounces. One CTA done well outconverts five competing ones every time.
Above-the-fold content has roughly 10x the visibility of below-the-fold content. Whatever you want visitors to do has to be there.