3 Things Every Website Needs Above the Fold

Most people decide whether they'll stay on your website in the first 3 to 5 seconds.

That means the part they see before they scroll, what we call above the fold, has to do a lot of work fast. Most website problems are visible without scrolling at all. Here's what every business website in Orlando needs up top, and what good web design gets right first.

Pull yours up on your phone right now. No scrolling. Whatever's on that first screen is what this article is about.

A clear headline that says what you do

Don't make people guess with fancy wording. Right away, visitors should know who you are, what you offer, and how it helps them. Keep it simple, direct, and focused.

Clever headlines cost you the people who landed in a hurry, which is most of them. The visitor who has to decode your headline to learn what you sell is a visitor who leaves.

Say what you do like you'd say it to a person standing in front of you, not like a tagline contest. "Roofing and repairs in Orlando" beats "Elevating your exterior experience" every day of the week.

Test yours. Show the top of your site to somebody who's never seen it, for five seconds, then take it away. Ask what you do and who it's for. If they hesitate, the headline is being clever at your expense.

A strong call to action

What should someone do next? Call you? Book a service? Shop now? Whatever you pick, make the button easy to find and crystal clear.

One clear next step, not five competing ones. The top of your site isn't a menu of possibilities. It's a signpost. And a signpost that points everywhere points nowhere.

Quick version of the test: cover everything except the button. Could a stranger guess what happens when they tap it? "Submit" tells them nothing. "Get a free quote" tells them everything.

And put it where thumbs live. On a phone, that means visible without scrolling, and big enough to tap without aiming. A beautiful button nobody can find or tap is just decoration.

A clean, mobile friendly layout

Most people are visiting your site from their phone. If the top of your site is cluttered, slow to load, or hard to read, they're gone before they scroll.

A well designed top section sets the tone for your whole site. If it feels outdated or confusing, visitors leave, no matter how great your services are. That's the same failure covered in signs your website is hurting your business, just zoomed in to the first screen.

And do the zoom check while you're at it. If you have to pinch the screen to read your own headline, your customers won't bother. They'll just go back to the search results and pick the next name.

One more thing that lives up top: load speed. If the first screen takes its time showing up, the headline and the button don't matter. The visit's already over. Photos straight off a phone, never compressed, are the usual culprit.

You don't need a new website to fix the first screen. You need a headline that says what you do, one obvious next step, and a top section that works on a phone. Start there. The rest of the site gets easier once the top stops leaking people.

Related reading: 3 Signs Your Website Is Hurting Your Business.

If this sounds like your business, book a free brand consult. Fifteen minutes, no pitch, no pressure. We'll tell you what we would do, even if that's not hiring us.