Here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design professionals. We work with companies in a range of industries, across Manchester and the surrounding region, including Wigan and Southport, to deliver high quality web design solutions that really get results. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything you should know about creating above the fold content without a navigation bar or menu.
What is above the fold content?
Above the fold content is the content that appears on the screen before the user scrolls down or interacts with the website. This is also called the hero area. Hero areas containing full screen images or text and graphic combinations have been incredibly popular over the recent years. These have also been growing in size and turning more minimalist as the style has grown and developed. One of the most recent trends now involves designing hero areas without menus at all. This means that the above the fold content is simply the image and text combination. But does this work for your users? And how can you apply this style effectively?
How important are menus in web design?
Menu’s and navigation bars are particularly important in web design, as these help your users and potential customers find the page they are looking for quickly and easily. Your users are also accustomed to using this type of method, on any website, and this is a key part of their expectations when opening any website. But with the increased use of mobile devices, instead of laptops and desk tops, traditional web design methods are changing, and scrolling is something that your users will probably do automatically. And this is a key part of the decision by some companies to lose the menu altogether. But how can this be done without ruining the user experience?
What are the important considerations when designing above the fold content without menus?
To make sure that even without a navigation bar, your website still makes sense to website users and potential customers, you should consider:
- Including clues in the text- the text above the fold tends to be large and eye catching to grab the attention of the user. Using a phrase like “And there’s more” or “Find out more” as part of this text indicates to your users that if they scroll, they will find out more information. However, this relies on your users actually reading the information and not just skipping over it. But thankfully, its likely that their first action will be to scroll down, where the rest of the content will be waiting.
- Using a scroll arrow- positioning an arrow or another visual indicator that allows users to see that there is more content below can be incredibly effective. This can also be an interactive element, which automates the scrolling process. If this is something that you think would impress your audience, you could transform your entire landing or home page with this type of design.
The hamburger icon
If you are not sure about removing your entire navigation system, a hamburger menu can be a good compromise. Positioning this in the top right or left hand corner, out of the way, ca help you keep a clean, minimalist style, while also indicating where to find the additional pages and content to your audience, who will likely see the hamburger menu first.
For more information or advice, or for high quality, professional web design solutions, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.