Is scrolling BAD UX Design?

E6 5 min UX: Scared to scroll?

This article is a transcript from the UX Direction podcast. Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Welcome back to another episode of the UX Direction Podcast with me, Jay Tulloch, the UX Director. I’m introducing something new, 5 minute UX.

5 minute UX is a sub-series giving you some quick-fire tips and advice to help level up your UX Design career fast.

Today’s tip is never to be scared of scrollable content; there is a reason why we design mobile-first. Because the vast majority of your user base are on their mobile devices, it is frustrating that even in 2021, people are scared to create experiences that require the end-user to scroll for content — especially on more traditional websites offering services or searchable content.

The concern usually comes from an exec or someone from the marketing team, and I completely get it. They want to guarantee that the campaign, service or project initiative will be seen — and rake in the glory. And that is fine, and it will. But the content doesn’t always need to be in primary view ‘above the fold’ on the screen or replacing core functionality or features that customers need to achieve their goals.

Even if the content’s put in prime position, many factors need to be considered, such as the context of the content, timing of presenting the information, and the primary customer objective.

Where to place content is a constant battle of interaction cost, which is the sum of mental and physical efforts that the end-user must deploy when interacting with a site to reach their goals. (Nielsen Norman Group)

The content below the fold is deemed invisible to the end-user. It, therefore, has a higher interaction cost due to user action (physical scrolling effort or mental content guessing effort) required to view and engage with the content.

Scrolling, to some degree, has become an expectation in the majority of use cases — especially since the web took a shift to mobile devices. The ubiquity of scrolling behaviour on smaller screens is the main reason why in 2021, we do not need to fear content being below the fold anymore.

Especially because we as UX Designers can establish creative ways to build engagement for our end-users that do not require fighting for screen estate above the fold. We can do this by understanding human psychology; fundamentally, the content located above the fold helps us decide whether to continue engagement and scroll through to the rest of the content on the page.

Using this behavioural knowledge, UX Designers can become influential stakeholders when these discussions on ‘to above the fold or not to above the fold’ occur (and they will occur). UX Designers should be avid storytellers in these scenarios and create a compelling narrative the encourages the end-user to scroll and explore content online. Using our understanding of information architecture and hierarchy to place the most persuasive content first, drawing the customer in to explore the content further down the page. To achieve this, we must ensure that the user sees a range of value in front of them; an arrow pointing downwards will not accomplish this, but an exciting title with a partial paragraph or an enticing illustration would be way more effective, tempting the users’ curiosity and encouraging them to investigate further.

In short, the essential content for the customer must be at the top of the screen. That is non-negotiable, but for everything else competing for screen estate — they must provide the customer with a valid and compelling reason for the additional interaction effort. Successful user experience designs encourage this extra effort by delivering value through a glimpse of a sexy title, thought-provoking imagery or partial sight of a contagiously enthusiastic introduction. To be a successful designer, you need to be aware of the fold to engage users rather than turning them away elsewhere — prioritising content that leads the user to the desired destination rather than screaming at them to engage without giving them the context and providing the right content to them in a timely manner following a narrative.

And that’s a wrap!

Was this useful or useless? Let me know in the comments.

I’ll be back next week with more from the UX Direction podcast with me, Jay Tulloch. The UX Director. ✌️