People Don’t Scroll (and Other Page Length Myths)

Mar 2, 2018

Have you ever wondered how long your page should be?

Searching for results doesn’t give you helpful answers:

300 words
5 paragraphs
As long as necessary
…but not too long!

Here are five myths to avoid and some helpful guidelines to follow when writing your page content.

Myth: People don’t scroll

There is a common misunderstanding that people don’t scroll, and therefore less content is always better. This has been perpetuated by well-intentioned mobile-first designers and content creators who often cut down on content to make sure it is easy to view on a small screen.

More recent studies and articles report that infinite scrolling is an accepted navigation practice.

Why? Given the size of today’s screens, even the shortest text on mobile requires scrolling. As the patterns has become commonplace (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), people have stopped expecting web content to stay “above the fold.”

What’s more, if your audience has come to the page they expect to find information or accomplish their task, why would you then make them click to additional pages to find half the information? More clicks means more opportunities to leave the site.

Unless user testing shows otherwise, it typically makes sense to keep relevant content on a single page.

Myth: People don’t read

Children will eat vegetables if their parents introduce them in a good way. Students will learn if teachers appeal to their interests and motivations. And people will read if the content is relevant, and presented in an engaging way.

People will read when they are engaged in what you are writing because it relates to them, and when it’s easy for them to consume and understand the information.

Myth: Concise content means less content

Rather than simply cutting words, rewrite the sentence to try to get the information across in an engaging way. The focus should be on choosing descriptive words that decrease the number of terms or examples needed.

So, How Long Should Your Page Be?

A good page of content is long enough to cover the subject, engaging enough to keep people reading, and personalized to your target audience.

If content feels too long or boring, perhaps it’s not targeted or relevant enough to the audience. If it’s difficult for people to find content on the page, you might need to add headers, bullets, or other content elements. If you’re worried about having too much content on a page, consider what the purpose of the page is and if the goals are too varied for your target audience to find what they’re looking for.

Ultimately, all of these guidelines have one thing in common: they’re designed to focus on your target audience. Personalize for them, engage them, and help make content readable for them.