Above the fold
Also called First screen, First viewport
The part of a web page visitors see before they scroll. It decides whether they understand the offer and keep reading.
Above the fold is the area of a page that is visible as soon as it loads, before anyone scrolls. The term comes from newspapers, where the top half of the front page carried the stories meant to sell the paper. On the web there is no single fold: a phone, a laptop and a large monitor all show different amounts of the page, so it is safer to think of it as the first screen on the device most of your visitors use.
The first screen matters because it answers the questions every visitor asks in the first few seconds: what is this, is it for me, and what should I do next? If the answer is hidden behind a large image, a slider or a vague slogan, many people leave before they reach the useful part of the page.
Putting something above the fold does not mean cramming everything in. A clear headline, one supporting line, a visual that shows the product or result, and a single primary action are usually enough. Everything else can live further down for the visitors who want detail. Visitors do scroll, but only when the first screen has given them a reason to.
How to improve it
- Check your page on a real phone, not only on desktop, and judge what fits on that first screen.
- Lead with a headline that names the outcome you deliver, and test it with the free headline analyzer (open tool).
- Place your primary call-to-action button in the first screen so visitors never have to hunt for the next step.
- Replace auto-rotating sliders with one static message and one supporting image.
- Cut decorative spacing and oversized hero images that push the headline and button out of view on mobile.
How PageScore checks it
PageScore checks whether a call-to-action appears in the first screen, rates headline clarity and length and looks for a supporting subheadline. Its AI review also looks at a mobile screenshot of your first screen.