Scrolling is a good thing
Design / Ramblings / Usability
29 January 2010
2
Designers have always been told to keep all of the homepage content within the window frame or above the “page fold”—no scrolling. It made sense, so for years, we’ve done this.
But online trends are ever changing—so why shouldn’t we?
Websites are no longer made to be short concise—they are far more like the expanded volume for any organization. The homepage is no longer just a logo, short blurb and a relevant picture—it’s become a dashboard or a portal to browse and engage. Sure, you need to stick the really important stuff up top, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add a little extra down below.
But, nevermind what we think…3c32 is such a tiny audience…but CX Partners has tested this new scrolling theory with over 800 people. Take a look at “The myth of the page fold: evidence from user testing” and feel at ease about the possibility of a scroll bar on your homepage.
2 Comments
Carter says...
“Nice post. Thanks for the link to CXP’s study. This idea has been around awhile, and the study data is validating. Hats off for the study and thanks for raising the topic.
The nice thing about the main browser scrollbar is that it doesn’t change from site to site. It’s universal, like the back button.
A related topic is the use of secondary/internal scrollbars. Sometimes these are used to keep content above-the-fold, constrained by a scrolling box within the page. When this technique is used as a “solution” to the above-the-fold non-problem, it introduces a new and–in my experience–challenging interface control. Have you seen any studies about internal scrollbars?”
Stacy says...
“I’ve not seen any official studies on internal or secondary scroll bars, but I feel the same way about these as I do about frames—use with caution!
They do, as you mentioned, create a challenging user experience.
They are a crutch—a way to bridge print designers (or static thinkers) into the fluid world of the web. You used to see these all the time—since we were all getting used to the web. But, I can’t think of a reasonable time to use internal scrollbars anymore.”