Vertical height of homepage ideals

[tyutghf]

Our main website homepage has bits of each section it, meaning that it scrolls a rather long way. Our new director believes that it is way too long and should only be the height of the initial screen height.

The homepage is well structured containing header tags with a paragraph of text beneath each heading, which then links off to the relevant section, but he wants it to be much simpler.

I don't agree, in my opinion people these days are used to scrolling due to social media being so popular. When I land on a page I am happy to scroll down to see more content.

I've tried to find some articles on screen height but have drawn a blank. What are other people's thoughts on page vertical height and does anyone know of any articles I can use to show that his view is outdated.

Hey, I'm even happy to be proved wrong, but I don't feel happy changing something if I think it is wrong.

 

[SamBones]

I mostly agree with you. I see no problem with scrolling a home page. I do think the most critical or important topics do need to be "above the fold". This can make a very focused and useful landing page with more detail just below.

On the other hand, the new director does, "sign your paycheck". Not literally, but you know what I mean. Your ongoing employment and advancement is often tied to just giving them what they want.

On the other hand, things like graphic design, UI/UX design, workflow and usability, are critical to effective website design, and usually way beyond a "new director"s skill set. Sometimes it's a Dunning-Kruger issue, with them knowing just enough to think they're experts on the topic.

Maybe start using the term "above the fold" in front of your new director, and then drop in that they can get more information without having to do a lot of clicks. Maybe make a demo version that requires a lot of clicks to get what you want and then provide statistics on time to reach something with click counts. Maybe provide A/B testing and let your users vote on what they like best. Maybe the new director's right.

Anyway, I would tread lightly when trying to sway or educate your new director in a different direction. Depending on how you approach it, it can feel like a challenge to authority to them and most new directors don't take that kind of thing very well at all.

 

[tyutghf]

Thank you for the reply Sam. Whilst he does indeed pay my wages, I wouldn't feel like I had done my job properly if I didn't give my opinion, but if after giving it with some backup information, he chooses to ignore it then I'm happy.

On this occasion, we have compromised. I have created two homepages and will serve his version to 50% of users and mine to the other 50%. I've placed some mouse tracking software on the site so we can see how people interact. After a few months we have another meeting to decide what to do.

 

[SamBones]

Excellent! It sounds like you have it well in hand. Just make sure you don't present it as a challenge to his decision making. Again, nobody likes being told they're wrong. Just tread lightly.

 

[tyutghf]

It worked really well for me actually. The rest of the company has been kissing his backside since he started, but I'm physically not able to do that. He said that it's been refreshing to have someone be honest and challenge him. Who knows, he may be cursing me behind my back but so far so good. I just hope my 50% users navigate the site better than his haha.

 

[cadel]

I think you could find competitors website or popular website with a scrolling homepage and show him. Sometimes people need to compare what they do to be sure it's the good way of working.
Good luck!

I'm a web developper and propose my services on

https://www.wordpress-agence.fr/.