7 tips: Encouraging scrolling - Above the Fold, part 2

Scrolling is more natural for users today than it was before, but we need to work actively to encourage scrolling. Here we give you 7 concrete tips on how you can do that.

1. Capture the visitor with a good first impression

Did you know that it only takes 50 milliseconds (0.05 s) for a user to form a first impression of a site? In this short time it is crucial to catch the visitor's interest. Studies have also shown that the better the first impression is, the longer visitors stayed on a webpage.

There is probably no simple answer to how to give a good first impression. Every company, brand and customer is different. But the basics are to have a clear message and to have relevant information in the right place. It is also important not to overwhelm the visitor with too much information and elements that compete for the visitor's attention at the same time. It is above the fold that you have the opportunity to capture the visitor's attention, but not all the information we consider important may fit into this small area. We must ensure we prioritise our content and realise that our users will scroll if we give them a reason

It is also important to create recognition and meet expectations. The user should quickly recognize what they see. For example, many visitors are used to finding the logo in the top-left corner, while contact details are often found in the footer or in the top-right corner. If the user recognizes elements from other websites when they arrive at your site, you make it easier for them to interpret the information and create a better first impression. The design’s layout or how quickly the page loads also plays an important role. Visual stimuli are another valuable tool. Having an inspiring image or video in the top area can convey a feeling that makes visitors want to scroll to find out more. This does not mean that every page must have a large image. The homepage or category pages, for example, are appropriate places to include a hero image, whereas a contact page or an about page may not necessarily benefit from large images

2. Encourage scrolling

Once you have managed to capture the visitor’s interest you must give the user a reason to scroll further down the page or click through to subpages. If you simply give your visitors a reason to scroll, they will do so. Visitors typically ask themselves the following three questions when they arrive on a website:

• Where am I?
• What can I do here?
• Is what I see interesting enough to scroll or click through?

To answer these questions you should briefly state who you are. Also tell visitors what they can do on your website and what you offer the customer. You must communicate the value the customer gets from you. Then entice the visitor to move further into the website or further down the page. Show the way and give an idea of what the site contains through a clear menu, well-formulated headings, prompts via clear calls-to-action, or by making it obvious that the page can be scrolled

If you manage to answer these three questions in a clear and quickly interpreted way, there's a good chance your visitor will become interested and willing both to scroll and to click to find out more. You don't need to answer all the questions above the fold. Showing a preview of some of the content that appears further down the page can also encourage scrolling. In other words, it shouldn't look like the page ends when it doesn't.

3. Have a strategy and focus on UX

In the same way that we encourage action and clicks with clear calls-to-action, scrolling is largely about guiding visitors correctly using layout, structure and visual hierarchies. There are several methods you can use here – for example nudging and conversion optimization. Overall it's about having a well-thought-out strategy, prioritizing your content and simplifying decision processes. Simply guiding the user in the right direction. That's exactly what UX and design can help with. Companies that invest in UX and design often succeed in both reducing costs and increasing revenue, but it requires having a plan and a strategy.

4. Work with content activation

The most well-planned website can stand or fall with poor content. For your visitors to want to scroll and discover more, the content must be relevant to the user. You need to work tactically with your content, the so-called content activation. The content must meet users' needs while also converting and fulfilling business goals. Your visitors must receive enough information to be convinced to convert. At the same time you must convey the value to the customer and explain how your product/service solves their problem or saves them time and money. We also need to include a fair amount of information on the pages to increase visibility in search engines so that users find the website. Hopefully you have editors or writers in-house who can produce good content, otherwise our advice is to get help from someone who can

5. Get to know your users and bring in expert help

There are well-known reading patterns you can take advantage of when structuring your content and encouraging users to scroll. Users often scan webpages, reading more carefully at the top before scrolling and skimming further down. Clear headlines and a strong visual hierarchy are therefore essential. Equally important are clear call-to-actions. The user should never have to search or wonder where to click in order to convert.

When we understand how our users behave and what motivates them, we can tailor the content to their needs. But there is no one-size-fits-all solution. People are different, and so are their needs. That’s why bringing in experts in the field is, once again, one of our simplest and perhaps most important tips.

6. Be aware of how attention span affects behavior

People can only maintain focus for a certain number of seconds or minutes at a time. This is known as our attention span. It refers to how long a person can stay engaged in a task without becoming distracted. Even though users scroll more today than ever before, the sheer volume of information means the brain has to filter faster and more efficiently. A short attention span is simply part of human nature.

It’s often said that you have about eight seconds to capture a visitor’s interest. Showing content that is relevant and engaging the moment someone lands on your site is therefore crucial. If you fail to meet this rapid evaluation, you will lose leads and potential customers.

You need to make it easy for your visitors to absorb information. The page should not feel “finished” if it isn’t, and you should avoid offering too many choices, as this makes decision-making harder. Navigation also helps users get a sense of what the page (or the entire site) contains, which can encourage them to scroll or click further. Make sure your top navigation doesn’t contain too many options. A good rule of thumb is to keep it to no more than five to seven main entries.

Your visitors shouldn't have to be inundated with information so that they have to sift through headlines and buttons that shout and compete for our attention. Breaking the information into steps, in so‑called microlearning, gives visitors information in small portions that are better suited to our digital brain. Landing pages, category pages and the homepage work well to summarize and let the user scroll through and get an overview. From there you can lead the visitor on to the site's more detailed subpages for more information. You can also use links and expandable elements.

7. Understand human behavior and design with digital care

You may have heard of "infinite scroll", or endless scrolling, where users scroll on a page that never seems to end. This has become an increasingly common phenomenon in recent years. Facebook's News Feed and online retailers that automatically load products are two examples of where infinite scroll is used. Users don't have to click to reach the next page, and because the content updates automatically, they often end up scrolling for much longer than they realize.

Our brains function much like they did in the days of the cavemen – they are not built for the digital era we now live in. Humans naturally react to stop signals because we are used to watching for potential threats.  With a feature like infinite scroll you remove that natural stop signal. Users no longer have to decide whether to click to the next page. That decision has already been made for them. Companies simply benefit when they manage to capture users’ attention and engagement.

By understanding how the human brain works, we can design user experiences that are irresistible — at least to some extent. This can, of course, have both pros and cons. The man who invented infinite scroll deeply regrets it today. He believes we waste far too much time scrolling. As a digital agency, we believe it’s important to take a responsible approach. It should not be about manipulating users, but about helping and guiding them in the right direction. At Limetta, we always keep this in mind when designing and developing products and services for our clientss. A kind of digital care that benefits both people and business.

Summary

You can encourage your users to scroll by offering content that is interesting and relevant. It’s important to have a clear strategy and structure your content intentionally. Make sure to show a glimpse of what comes further down the page. In other words, the page shouldn’t look like it ends if it doesn’t. You should also get to know your users and tailor the content to their needs. Bring in experts who know how to create intuitive user experiences.

By understanding human behavior we can design digital experiences that people actually want to use. Humans cannot maintain focus for too long, or on too many things at once. Our attention span influences how we act and process information. This needs to be taken into account when designing or structuring a website or webpage. Finally, we want to emphasize the importance of a responsible approach to design –we need to use both our brains and our hearts <3

At Limetta we have extensive experience of UX and design and of working tactically with content through Content activation. Contact us and we'll help you improve your website

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