Before discussing about why text above the fold of the page is most important, it will be helpful to know what “above the fold” refers to.  In the print world, “above the fold” stands for those articles that are places at the top segment of a newspaper before the crease. Editors tend to put the most important articles in this area to attract buyers and boost sales. In case of a website, placing vital content in the most prominent segment areas serves the similar purpose. However, the entire procedure becomes complex as many variables play key roles in the exact position of the digital “fold”.

For a website, the content above the fold refers to that content which a user can see when the site is first loaded. To see the content below the fold, the user will need to use the scroll bar. It is extremely important to get some text and a few pictures above the fold that will not only attract the users’ attention but also retain their interest and entice them to explore the site more. The text above the fold should also let your visitors know what the site is all about before they begin scrolling. If the text above the fold of the page is not interesting enough, the visitors who land at your site will not think twice before jumping off to some other site with the click of a mouse.

Previously, many people believed that visitors to a site were averse to scrolling down. So, whatever that was important was put above the fold. However, the truth is that users like to scroll, provided you have the perfect bait to initiate this action. So, the big question-what’s the bait? Well, the answer is – informative and unique content. To get hold of your viewers’ attention, the initial screen should let them know what your offerings are, how that could be useful to them and why they should use your products/services. If you can respond to these questions satisfactorily, your visitors will most probably stay on your web page and scroll down to get more information. So, you should place the critical elements of your website above the fold and make use of great content as the bait to let the visitors take the desired action – be it subscribing to your newsletter, opting for a special offer or simply deciding to use your offerings.

Remember that you should not jam every possible thing into the space above the fold of your website. Doing that would be a poor option as it will not only overwhelm the viewer but also not answer simple questions like those discussed above. So, keep it short, simple yet attractive when you are writing text or working on graphics that will be placed above the fold. Ensure that the matter above the fold conveys what your website is all about and how the visitors can benefit from it, in an extremely simple and clear language.

So, put some enticing and attractive text above the fold that call for an action and see how casual visitors to your site turn into customers.

Do you agree that text above the fold is the most important part of web marketing?

Once you take your business online and launch your products/services by means of your website, you start thinking about marketing your offerings and the ways to reach more and more people. Have you ever wondered how you tend to overlook an important aspect in this whole procedure? It is the importance of web design in marketing.

In your marketing campaign, the foremost step is to bring visitors to your site. However, once the visitors land at your website, you need to retain them for sometime so that they get interested in your offerings and explore your site to find out what else is up for grabs. Here comes the importance of website design. Unless you design your website in such a way that it attracts the viewers and make navigation across your web pages a hassle-free affair, the visitors won’t think twice before switching over to another site. So, it becomes extremely important to hold the attention of the viewers and make them stay for a while at your site. The more these people explore your website, the more chances you will have for getting these leads converted into sales.

These days, the user has the right to utter the last word. It is rightly said by many that the customer is the king. So, to make your marketing campaign a success, you need to keep the users satisfied. Remember that an attractive web design that speaks of quality will go a long way in not only getting your brand established but also creating a positive impact on the web surfers. It will not be an exaggeration to say that a good website is similar to a fine storefront. Having a well designed website can make a huge difference by converting even a casual surfer to a loyal and serious customer of your products/services.

Considering how important web design is for your marketing campaign, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Keep the navigation simple and the functionality user-friendly. You should not compromise on these two factors for achieving artistic excellence.
• Don’t use huge pictures or too many nested tables as these slow down your web pages’ download speed.
• Design your site in such a way that most of its features are supported irrespective of the browser that’s used. It is wise not to design your website having browser-specific functions. This is because if one browser supports a particular feature, there is a high probability that the other browsers won’t support that feature.
• Finally, design your website for all resolutions* and all browsers. Make sure that the site also supports all color-depths. If people find that your web pages look good with their own resolution and browser, they will feel “at home”. This in turn will increase your chances of getting a better response.

  * If you want to stick to one screen resolution for your website design than I would suggest you go for the 1024*768, as this is the most popular screen resolution world wide.

In order to make the most of your marketing plans, ensure that you design your website keeping the above mentioned points in mind. Never forget the importance of webdesign in marketing as it plays a key role in getting you near your targeted ROI (Return On Investment).

Are you satisfied with your website’s design?

Recommended Reading:

Determinants of Successful Website Design: Relative Importance and Recommendations for Effectiveness

The Importance of Web Design in Successful Online Marketing

Here are some simple steps that will help your website marketing campaign during the economic recession period:

• Make your clients happy: Always try to think for your clients and how to make them happy and satisfied. Remember that it is easier to hold on to your present clientele than making new ones.

• Have useful content: Analyze your site to find if each web page sounds like the ideal sales letter or not. If not, you have work to do. Edit, re-edit or re-hash the content so that your aim of converting the leads into sales is achieved. Constant improvements of your site’s content will not only perk up your search rankings but will also help in better conversions.

• Go for Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Put useful and unique content on your website and ensure that the major search engines are crawling your site. However, don’t go for tricky stuffs that may get your site penalized and banned.

• Keep a track of your expenses and the results: It is necessary to keep a track of what advertising costs you are incurring along with the effectiveness of your ads. If your ads are not getting your leads converted into sales, abandon it. During recession, there’s no sense in spending money on something that fails to produce a return. However, keep the time taken by your customers to react to your ads in mind. If someone decides to buy after 4 weeks of time, deleting the ad after a week will not be a sane decision. So, the bottom-line is to spend smarter during the period of recession.

• Stick to the fundamentals: Some marketing methods have weathered the storm and still hold good. So, go back to those fundamentals like honesty, clarity and taking the time out to do your research.

• Put your money in market segments having a rapid growth: Find the market segments that are growing quickly. Understand them and decide if you can win business at a fast pace in those markets. If the answer is in affirmative, go for it.

• Seek more customers: You can work with your competitor during such a recession. Get them the customers that they want but you don’t and let them return the same favor. You can earn new customers and eventually more money by means of such co-marketing.

• Expand your business: Rather than acting in a conservative manner and shrinking your business volume, go for an expansion plan. However, don’t overspend. Instead, offer an effective message to your prospects and spread that message all over the place. The fact that Internet marketing is a lot more economical than other media will help you execute your expansion plans effectively.

• Start blogging: If you are not yet into blogging, begin today. A big world of social media will open up to you once you start blogging. Marketing your products by means of blogging will just cost you time. If you get yourself registered for some of the most effective social networks like MySpace, Digg, Facebook etc and make friends, it will help you. Suppose you have 100 friends on one such social network, who in turn have 100 friends each. When you communicate some exciting news about your business at this social network, your immediate friends and their extended friend circle will give you 10,000 listeners, a majority of whom may convert into your clientele.

So, don’t panic even during these hard times of recession. Rather, use the aforesaid suggestions to make the most of your website marketing campaign.

Do you have any more ideas? Please comment!

Recommended Reading:

Marketing during Recession

7 Strategies for B2B Marketing during a Recession: The Definitive Guide

Should You Cut Your Marketing Budget During a Recession?