I’ve talked about this generally before about how first impressions really matter but a few questions have been shot my way about specifics, so I thought I’d drop a few nuggets.

The “Fold”

Whatever a visitor sees the moment they come to your site, without scrolling, is called “above the fold.” Naturally, the content and the particular design elements (and their presentation) will make the first impression stick.

It should be exciting, attractive, and most importantly it should encourage the reader to want to see more. Essentially, if you don’t create a “positive experience” above the fold, you’ve lost them.

Now clearly you can’t be 100% certain what each and every visitor will see because of the different screen resolutions and monitors that they visit your site with, so one needs to be even more strategic. Get tools to “simulate” different resolutions, like 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, etc…

Some Thoughts

• For a blog or a site, you could have your content start as high as possible. I like this a lot. Design elements, graphics, art, images can sometimes take away from the “meat” of your site or blog. I redesigned ChurchCrunch and Human3rror with this in mind (and a few others).
• Visual impact is something that some may prefer, putting content second. A big image or branding might be more appropriate. This can work, but it’s got to work. Written content will obviously be pushed down, sometimes below the fold. Be careful and thoughtful!

Above the Fold Elements

• Who – Blog title, site title, brand, who you are… duh.
• Image – Header image or graphic logo works. Something to stand out. If not at the very top, make sure it’s above the fold somewhere obvious.
• Navigation – Make sure it’s right there and obvious. If they have to search for it or scroll to find it… that’s not good.
• Subscriptions – RSS Subscription should be obvious and apparent. I need to do a better job here here on ChurchCrunch. Working on it! Email subscriptions are still very cool too.
• Title and Content – Should be above the fold, especially for a blog. Get them the content fast. Grab ‘em with that good provocative blog post title…!
• Historical Stuff – Archives or recent posts should be seen. I’ve chosen “Popular Posts”. Lots of ways to skin this bird.
• Category Options – Some people don’t use categories. I’m headed that way too, but, I for many, it still is very important.
• Featured Content – If you’ve got a template that does this, great. If not… look for one!
• Ads – Be strategic here and be safe.

Anything you’d add?