How to force the user to read the page to the end

We are all familiar with the first screen rule that “The user does not scroll the page, so all the information should be on top”, it is based on the fact that the user does not use the scroll bars, because he is lazy.
The guys at cxpartners (UK, Bristol) decided to check this statement and conducted a study, presenting a translation of their report.

As web development professionals, we know that first-screen rule is a myth. Over the past 3 years, we have carried out about 800 user tests and only in three cases the lower border of the window became a real barrier for users.
In this article we will prove that the first screen rule does not work!

What is the first screen rule?

In general, this rule came from newspapers: the most important material in newspapers is always located on the top half of the first page. On the Internet, it is used to describe the part of the page that the user sees first.

Why we don’t worry about the first screen rule

Users told us that they do not care much about the scroll bar, and we saw this for ourselves. Users feel more than comfortable scrolling through long, very long pages to find what they need. Even a quick glance allows you to see many successful sites, the creators of which do not worry about the rules of the first screen.

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Add evidence

When we run tests at cxpartners, we use eye trecker (eye tracking system). Eye trecker allows you to see what the user sees. Based on the data we receive, we create temperature maps that show us where the users looked.

Scroll bars

When we analyzed the results, we saw a clear spot in the right corner of the map. It was a scrollbar, from which it was easy to conclude that scrolling is used to estimate the length of the page and the content that is hidden from view.

A small amount of content gives impetus to further research the page.

The image below shows two variants of the Bristol airport page: on the first layout, the information is immediately divided into two columns, and on the second layout there is a basic element in the form of an illustration. As a result, on the second layout, people used scrolling more often, and traveled lower.

Eye brakes

One of the three cases where users did not explore the page further was the First Choice website, in other cases the situation was similar.
We conducted a study on the First Choice website, which we did a year ago, the page was very long and users would not want to see it to the end.

The heading "Accomodation" stretched to the full page inhibited the view of the user. Then we put the content on the "fold line",
which led to the desired result.

Design Tips

As a result of observations, we came to the following conclusions:

• A large amount of free space between the elements facilitates eye movement.
• horizontal lines inhibit the reader and prevent further viewing of the page, so the elements should be slightly above the bottom border
• Avoid scrolling inside the page, as they prevent the reader from appreciating the height of the page.

Authors Notes

• We did not consider the issue of content placement, but the issue of viewing the content located below the border.
• The standard size of the viewing area was taken as 1024 * 700 pixels. 700 is the average height of the viewing area.

Translator's Note

1. This is a free translation of the article as close as possible to the original, perhaps some terms were translated incorrectly by me.
2. The place of the end of the viewing area is called by the authors fold, which in English means fold, but this is an English term, the analogue of which in Russian is unknown to me, therefore it is conditionally translated.