Above the Fold

Content that is visible on a web page without requiring the user to scroll. The term originates from newspaper publishing where important headlines appeared above the physical fold of the paper. In digital accessibility and usability, above-the-fold placement is significant because users examine 20-70% of above-the-fold content but only 5-10% of below-the-fold content. Research on ASL dictionary search found that user satisfaction drops significantly when desired results require scrolling, suggesting interface designers should consider recognition accuracy when determining how many results to display above the fold.