Figure 5-9. A typical homepage optimized for 8005600 shown at different resolutions. Optimizing
designs for 10245768 resolution creates a design that survives much better in higher-resolution
monitors.
The crowd wisdom??”which is supported through plenty of anecdotal evidence around the
Web??”is that the fold is a very real information speed bump. This is not because users are
technically inept, as Jakob Nielsen??™s first usability studies from 1996 claim,5 but because
they simply do not bother to look. They assume that the most important content will be
presented first. And the voracious speed at which readers consume sites??”anywhere
between 5 and 15 seconds to make a judgment on the relevancy of the content??”does not
help matters.
Going forward, it is safe to design for 10245768 resolution. The number of old monitors is
dwindling, and new laptops and flat-screens support a much richer pixel depth. Despite
this larger canvas and the increased savviness of the Internet community, material above
the fold??”at any resolution??”gets far more attention than material requiring a scroll
downward.
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