The majority of the best websites that I’ve ever seen offer what I like to call a one – two – Maybe three above the fold. And what I mean by this is that on most websites you don’t ever want to break up a design into any more than three sections or three lockups in one single view. Especially above the fold, anything more than three will instantly start to slow down the visitor’s flow on the page. Why because there’s too much to look at and typically when you see four lockups/sections in one view it starts to feel like an equally divided design with zero hierarchy. This means a visitor has no idea what to look at first. Keeping it with just two to three lockups in a single view takes out all the guesswork as you’re more able to control the hierarchy.

Example 1

Are there More than 3 Sections above the fold

Check out Live 9 Events’s website you can clearly see that they have followed the rule of having less than four sections above the fold. They have two sections, they have a Main Lockup section and they have a list of event ideas section with a Call to Action. The page is very clear and easy to read, it also has a nice directional flow that ends with a large, obvious, primary Call to Action.

Example 2

Are there More than 3 Sections above the fold

Here’s another example, now we’ve got Insequa’s website you can clearly see they are also following the rule of having less than four sections above the fold. They have three sections, they have a main call to action, they have an image and they have a section for teasing continuation. This page is laid out very clearly and creates a directional flow down the page. Making the page easier to understand for the visitor.