Designing for Scroll: Why the Fold Is Dead and What That Means for Your Website

Forget what you heard in 2010—the fold is dead. In 2025, users scroll instinctively, thanks to decades of touchscreen habits and social media feeds. Designing above-the-fold still matters, but it's no longer the whole story. The best websites today embrace the scroll as an opportunity to guide, reveal, and convert.

The Legacy of the Fold
‍The "fold"—originally borrowed from print, referred to the visible portion of a website before scrolling. It led to cluttered headers, jam-packed hero sections, and a fear of anything "below the fold." But that thinking is outdated. Users now expect movement, layers, and narrative as they scroll.

Why Scroll Behavior Has Changed

• Mobile-first design: Most traffic is mobile, where scrolling is second nature.
• Social platforms trained us: Infinite scroll is now the norm (Instagram, TikTok, X, etc.).
• Speed + performance: Faster loading means less friction when exploring content.

Designing for Scroll = Designing for Storytelling
‍Modern scroll behavior invites narrative design. This means:

• Revealing content gradually to hold attention
• Using scroll-triggered animations to guide interaction
• Stacking content in a logical, emotional journey from awareness to action

Best Practices for Scroll-Friendly Design

1. Clear entry point: Your hero should invite curiosity, not give everything away.
2. Whitespace is your friend: Let elements breathe so users don’t feel overwhelmed.
3. Sticky navigation: Make key CTAs or menus accessible throughout the scroll.
4. Break up sections: Use visual markers, bold headers, and interactive moments to keep users engaged.
5. Design mobile-first: Always test scroll flow on a phone before desktop.

How Lumos Digital Designs for the Scroll
‍At Lumos, we treat scrolling as a storytelling tool. Whether it's a service page, case study, or landing page, we choreograph the content flow so it feels intentional. Scroll-triggered effects, anchored CTAs, and modular sections are all designed to keep users moving—and converting.

Scrolling isn’t just a habit, it’s a language. The brands that speak it fluently will hold attention longer and build deeper trust. If your site still crams everything into the top 600 pixels, it’s time to rethink. Let’s design something scroll-worthy.

‍