What is Above the fold?
The short answer
Above the fold is the part of a page visible without scrolling; it has to state what the site is and invite the next step.
What people say: “the top of the page”, “what you see first”.
Above the fold, explained
The term comes from newspapers. Screens vary too much for one exact line, so the goal is that the essential message and action appear in the first view on common phones and laptops.
People do scroll. The fold's job is not to hold everything but to earn the scroll.
Questions people ask about Above the fold
What is Above the fold?
Above the fold is the part of a page visible without scrolling; it has to state what the site is and invite the next step.
Does everything important need to be above the fold?
No. The headline and main action should be; the proof and details can follow, as long as the top makes people want to keep going.
Related terms
The hero section is the large opening area at the top of a page, usually a headline, a short promise, a call to action and a visual.
Call to actionA call to action is the button or link that asks the visitor to take the page's main next step, such as Book now, Get a quote or Buy.
Largest Contentful PaintLargest Contentful Paint measures how long it takes for the largest visible element, usually the hero image or headline, to appear; good is 2.5 seconds or less.
UXUX, or user experience, is how it feels to use a website: whether people can find what they came for, understand it and finish what they started without friction.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.