Embrace the Scroll
Scrolling is a natural part of using the web, 99% (if not 100%) of web sites are a bit longer than the viewable area and require some amount of scrolling in order to view the whole thing. We have a completely functional system with hardware scroll wheels and track pads working seamlessly together to make scrolling as easy as possible. With all this, most designers are fixated with trying to get away from scrolling, rather than just embracing it. I know that this was the case for me. Perhaps I was tainted by persistent marketers and customers who demanded that we get as much as possible “above the fold”, or perhaps I just didn’t think about it long enough to argue any differently.
The initial cap on the page displays the prophet Isaiah holding a scroll which represents his revelations. This usage of the scroll as a depiction of something important is used throughout the middle ages.
The prayer roll to the left, shows a great example of how text, words and pictures can all be integrated together, and how the scroll can be more effective than a series of pages.
Historically, the “scroll”, from whence scrolling gets its name, is an older art than the page. The scroll was the first form of a book and was used in all Eurasian civilizations before the concept of the book was brought to popularity by the Roman empire. The use of the scroll in Europe diminished during the middle ages, and was reserved mainly for sacred texts.
There is something magical about the scroll as compared to the page. It allows content to be viewed in adjacency in time and space. Pages, on the other hand are separated by time, and making the relationship between two items on different pages is much more difficult. In a scroll, the two items are all part of the same scroll even if we can’t see the whole of each at the same time. The mind accepts the relationship of the two items better because the act of scrolling softens the transition between the two visible states, and scrolling really is easier than clicking (chances are you’ll be scrolling anyway).
Embrace the Scroll
There’s something inviting about seeing more on the page, especially when words and images are combined on the page. The relationships between the objects gain life and movement as the document is scrolled. New compositions emerge and new relationships are made between the different objects on the page.
I mentioned the persistence of most marketing minding clients to push to get things “above the fold” this is important and you need to have important items on the page visible when the pages loads. However, if you can afford a slightly longer download, your visitors are probably more likely to see something at the very bottom of your page, than they are to follow a link to another page. As devices get smaller and smaller the idea of scrolling becomes even more important. Scrolling on your mobile phone is much easier (and better) than linking to new pages.
The trick to make scrolling effective is to artfully combine words and images. Images will draw the user through the text no matter how long it is. Carefully crafted images, headlines, drop caps, will all add to the experience.
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Along this note is a recent posting of research on how much users scroll… pretty interesting
http://blog.clicktale.com/?p=19
I have embraced it! There is still value in having stuff above the fold but maybe the idea of “real estate” on the page is not just what is visible in the window itself but the entire page.
The so-called web “page” I think is closer to a scroll than a book page.
nice writeup. i’m thinking more and more about the power of proximity on the web. it’s not always needed, but when two concepts are related and you’re teaching or showing that relation, it is so much more effective to place them on the same page, regardless of the scroll..
also i love the headline, dropcap, scroll image. that scroll has me wanting to do so much more with my posts and designs. nice post.
For an example of why scrolling forever can be not-so-good, check out http://www.profitcalc.com/ .
Great post, but I hope your readers pay attention to such words as “artfully combine” , “carefully crafted” :-)
Aaron: great information here, thanks for the link. It would be nice to see a study done on the sites that have been designed for scrolling, as opposed to those that are just long.
Empty Bee: Where did you find that atrocity? I hope they pay attention also, artfully combining and carefully crafting are most definitely the key. If you don’t take of that, it is just long.
Great post, well written. I shall be showing this to a few, inert management types still stuck in a rut from the 4 year old advise they received from their last web designer, namely not to have a scrolling page.
I think it is important to remember though that you should offer the user some options at the bottom of the page, preferably things/tasks they may wish to now carry out. This topic was written about well by a few designers last year. Sorry can’t remember who and no links, bad me ;(
wow…well spoken! i have never thought of it this way, but i think you’re exactly right. i’m pointing all my scroll-hater clients to this post of yours!