Above the fold (ATF)

Above the fold (ATF) is the part of a web page a visitor sees immediately when it opens, before scrolling anything into view. It is the first — and often the only — section most visitors ever look at, which is why it decides the first impression, whether the message is understood, and whether the person stays on the page at all. Its counterpart is below the fold: content that only becomes visible after the user scrolls down.

Why the above-the-fold area matters

Because attention peaks in the opening seconds of a visit, the ATF area is reserved for the highest-value elements: a headline stating the value proposition, the primary call to action, a key visual and trust signals. Eye-tracking studies repeatedly show that attention drops sharply below the screen edge. A well-designed above-the-fold zone not only captures the eye but also invites further scrolling by signalling that the rest of the page is worth exploring.

Practical application

On landing pages and sales pages, the ATF area is designed as a self-contained summary of the offer. In performance work, above the fold connects directly to the LCP metric from Core Web Vitals — the largest element visible in the first viewport should render as quickly as possible, because its load time defines how fast the page feels. In practice this means prioritising resources critical to the ATF (for example inlining critical CSS and loading the hero image early) while deferring anything that only appears after scrolling, such as lazy-loading images below the fold.

It is worth remembering that the ATF area is not one fixed line — its height depends on the screen size and device, so it is designed for typical viewport ranges on desktop and mobile. In practice, teams verify how the first screen looks at several common resolutions to make sure the headline and call to action always sit above the fold, regardless of the user's device.