Why I Stopped Following "Above the Fold" Rules (And Doubled Conversion Rates)

Last year, I was obsessing over the "perfect" hero section height for a client's SaaS landing page. You know the drill - everyone says keep it above the fold, make sure the CTA is visible without scrolling, follow the 600px rule, whatever.

Then I discovered something that made me question everything I thought I knew about hero sections. While working on a website revamp for a Shopify client with over 1,000 products, I accidentally broke every "best practice" in the book. The result? We doubled their conversion rate.

Most designers are still stuck in 2015, treating hero sections like billboard ads. But here's what I learned: the ideal hero section size isn't about pixels or percentages - it's about user intent and content hierarchy.

Here's what you'll discover in this playbook:

• Why "above the fold" thinking is killing your conversions

• The psychology behind hero section sizing that actually works

• My contrarian approach that turned a homepage into a catalog

• Specific metrics from real client projects

• When to break the rules (and when to follow them)

Ready to challenge what you think you know about ecommerce and SaaS hero sections?

Walk into any design agency or browse through "conversion optimization" blogs, and you'll hear the same gospel repeated over and over:

"Keep everything above the fold." The magic number? Usually 600-800 pixels for desktop, 400-500 for mobile. Your hero section should contain:

• A clear headline that communicates your value proposition

• A supporting subheadline

• A primary call-to-action button

• Maybe a hero image or video

• All visible without scrolling

This conventional wisdom exists because of old usability studies from the early 2000s. Back then, users were afraid to scroll. Dial-up internet made every pixel precious. The "above the fold" concept came from newspapers, where the most important content needed to be visible when the paper was folded.

Today's designers religiously follow this rule because it sounds logical. Why make users work harder? Why not put everything they need right up front?

But here's where this thinking falls apart: you're optimizing for 2005 user behavior in 2025. Modern users scroll instinctively. Mobile usage has trained everyone to swipe and scroll. More importantly, cramming everything above the fold often creates cluttered, overwhelming experiences that hurt more than they help.

The real problem? Most advice treats every website the same, regardless of user intent, product complexity, or business model.

I faced this exact dilemma while working on a complete website revamp for a Shopify client. They had over 1,000 products in their catalog, and their biggest problem wasn't the hero section size - it was conversion rates bleeding because customers couldn't find what they wanted.

The existing site followed every "best practice" in the book. Beautiful hero section, perfectly sized at 650px, with a clear headline, compelling subheadline, and prominent "Shop Now" button. All above the fold. All conversion-optimized according to every guide you've ever read.

But here's what the data showed: visitors were using the homepage as nothing more than a doorway. They'd land, immediately click "All Products," then get lost in an endless scroll through 1,000+ items. The homepage had become irrelevant.

My client was frustrated. "We spent months perfecting this hero section," they said. "The copy tests well, the design is clean, everything's above the fold. Why aren't people buying?"

That's when I realized we were solving the wrong problem. We were obsessing over hero section height while our customers were drowning in choice paralysis. The traditional approach assumed people wanted to be "sold to" on the homepage. But our users just wanted to find products.

I proposed something that made my client uncomfortable: what if we broke every rule and turned the homepage into the catalog itself?

Instead of optimizing hero section height, I completely reimagined what a hero section could be. Here's exactly what I did:

Step 1: Killed the Traditional Hero Structure

I removed the hero banner entirely. No more value proposition headlines. No more "Shop Now" buttons leading nowhere specific. No more beautiful lifestyle images that said nothing about the products.

Step 2: Created a Mega-Menu Navigation System

I built an AI workflow to automatically categorize products across 50+ categories. This made product discovery possible without leaving the navigation. The "hero area" became functional navigation space.

Step 3: Transformed the Homepage Into a Product Gallery

Instead of a traditional hero section, I displayed 48 products directly on the homepage. The entire "above the fold" area became a grid of actual products with prices, ratings, and quick-view options.

Step 4: Added Only Essential Trust Elements

Below the product grid, I included a single testimonials section. No lengthy about sections, no feature lists, no complicated value propositions. Just social proof and products.

The Psychology Behind This Approach:

Traditional hero sections create a disconnect. Users see a beautiful banner, then have to mentally transition to "shopping mode." My approach eliminated that friction by putting users directly into shopping mode from the first pixel.

Think about it: when you walk into a physical store, you don't expect a sales presentation at the door. You want to see products. The same psychology applies online, especially for stores with large catalogs.

Technical Implementation:

I used dynamic product feeds to ensure the homepage always showed the most popular or newest items. The layout was fully responsive, showing 6 products per row on desktop, 2 on mobile. Each product card included essential information without overwhelming the user.

The results challenged everything I thought I knew about homepage design and hero sections:

Conversion Rate: Doubled from the previous design. Users who landed on the homepage were now twice as likely to make a purchase.

Homepage Engagement: The homepage transformed from a bounce-heavy entry point to the most viewed AND most used page on the site. Session duration on the homepage increased by 340%.

Time to Purchase: Decreased significantly because users could start shopping immediately instead of navigating through multiple pages to find products.

Mobile Performance: Particularly strong results on mobile, where the product grid felt native and intuitive for touch browsing.

But here's the most interesting result: the homepage reclaimed its throne as the primary navigation hub. Instead of being a marketing page that users quickly abandoned, it became the actual shopping interface.

This project taught me that hero section "best practices" often solve the wrong problem. Here are the key insights:

1. User Intent Trumps Design Rules
Before obsessing over hero section height, understand what users actually want to do on your site. Sometimes they want inspiration, sometimes they want specific products.

2. Industry Standards Are Starting Points, Not Finish Lines
E-commerce sites with large catalogs need different approaches than SaaS landing pages or service websites. One size doesn't fit all.

3. Friction Isn't Always Bad
Removing the traditional hero section actually reduced cognitive friction by eliminating unnecessary decision points.

4. Mobile Behavior Should Drive Desktop Design
Users expect to scroll and browse. Fighting this behavior creates more problems than it solves.

5. Test Radical Changes
Small hero section tweaks rarely produce breakthrough results. Sometimes you need to completely reimagine the user experience.

6. Content Strategy Matters More Than Layout
The best hero section in the world can't save poor content strategy or misunderstood user needs.

7. When to Break Rules vs. Follow Them
Break rules when user behavior data contradicts conventional wisdom. Follow them when testing shows they work for your specific audience.