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Eye Tracking: Readers Run Out of Gas Below the Fold

Eye Tracking: Readers Run Out of Gas Below the FoldWeb usability guidelines have remained pretty consistent since the inception of the Internet. Actually, according to an article entitled “Scrolling and Attention,” 80% of these guidelines have remained the same since the 1990s. But one guideline that has changed has to do with the “above the fold” concept. During the first years of the web’s existence, it was recommended that all information appear within the webpage’s initially viewable area, as users were accustomed to being presented with all relevant information without having to search for it. But over time, users became accustomed to scrolling and an eye tracking study conducted by the author showed that, though the top of the page receives the highest concentration of visual attention, the section below the fold does get some action as well.

To be exact, the portion of the page above the fold receives 80.3% of the total gaze time, according to an eye tracking study that recorded fixation behavior of webpage viewers. This means that the other 19.7% of the gaze time is distributed through the bottom portion of the page. The author describes the readers’ motivation to scroll as similar to a tank of gas; they start out with a full tank and a high reading intensity, which gradually degrades from moderate attention levels to superficial as the tank empties. Unless something along the way “tops up” the tank, readers lose interest. But despite less gaze time on content below the fold, the author says it is better to put more information on one page than to break it up into multiple pages. Not only is it easier to scroll down than wait for another page to load up, by giving the viewer the option to go to the next page to continue reading, you risk them changing their mind and leaving.

Nevertheless, don’t go overboard with page length for two reasons: 1) Readers generally have a short attention span and prefer to-the-point content, and 2) The portion above the fold is still the most valuable for attracting and keeping attention. Readers will only continue to scroll down if the information above the fold convinces them that the information below is also valuable. Eye tracking heatmap results from the study showed that when readers went all the way to the bottom, the last item often received some additional attention. So, be sure to use a layout that encourages scrolling and include a “nice morsel” of relevant information at the very bottom that will keep their attention and make them eager for more.

Scrolling and Attention

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