Good Design Means Asking Better Questions

Every few months, someone asks me a variant of the question: “do website visitors scroll?”

My response used to be directing these folks to dopeoplescroll.com, a now defunct site — which my page here recreates in loving homage — that proved its point through humorous efficiency.

Question answered, right? Not quite.

Early websites borrowed a design principle from newspapers: place important content “above the fold,” i.e., at the top of a page so that readers will see it without scrolling (or unfolding their newspaper).

As cell phones matured into smart phones, becoming the primary devices through which most people access the web, the concept of a “fold” grew moot. Today, moreover, screen dimensions vary wildly so the fold really is a thing of the past. Why, then, do folks still wonder whether or not website visitors scroll?

I think impatience has something to do with it.

Consider the example of a “continue” button placed at the bottom of a long form. If site traffic data shows that people are not clicking the “continue” button, a business lead will likely speculate that the button’s placement — compounded by the failure to scroll — is to blame. That might be true, but there’s more to consider.

Perhaps the button’s shape or color is less prominent in comparison to the content surrounding it, for instance, or maybe it’s unclear that someone needs to click the “continue” button to advance in the experience. It could also be that people simply don’t want to continue: maybe they’ve gotten cold feet, or the form is simply too long and folks are impatient to get rewarded for their actions.

The only way to understand what’s happening is through qualitative research: taking the time to ask more questions and talk directly to the people using the software.

This is one reason why UX designers monitor how folks are using our product so we can spot potential areas that need improvement before someone ever thinks to ask “do website visitors scroll?” That question is a red herring when there are so many better ones to explore.