Is "http://whereisthefold.com/" a good tool?

[Ron_McCabe]

I came across this tool: http://whereisthefold.com/

I would like to add this to my bag of tricks but want to see if anyone has actually taken the time to verify that this tool presents an accurate representation of where things are placed on different screen sizes?

I would appreciate any input.

Ron

[MoosaHemani]

I agree with peter, This tool by Google Labs is a better option but the tool you mentioned is also ok!!

[WhiteboardCreations]

Hey Ron,

This is a great question as it has to come into play for designing a site. I think it could be a useful tool, however, it may be an instance of 'shooting yourself in the foot' if you designed the site and important components aren't showing in the top fold.

I personally wouldn't use this tool, nor share with a client for a couple reasons.

1. We can't control a users' screen resolution. I personally use a laptop with 2 23in wide screen HD monitors split from it. 3 screens in total. I say this because my 15in laptop top fold is MUCH less than the 23in monitors top fold as all are set to the same screen resolution, by preference. I have had clients call and ask about why their site looks so big or so small when designing and we'd have to do the dance of working with their screens and monitor to get it to the settings which majority of computers users have... you guessed it, factory default. Then the client(s) were pleased and understood. Unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to that for any site visitors. We work to cater to the 80+% out there for design. Which, takes me to my next reason for not using this tool...
2. With the recent developing responsive design and parallax design styles, a lot of websites are becoming more visual works of art with pages that do run on in scrolling up/down. To many we talk with, they think it's "pretty cool" both visually and that you can display information and content more effectively across the Home page and inner pages. We still do strongly recommend having all the important components in the top fold always, logo, phone numbers, page headings, breadcrumbs, links to online forms, and navigation bars.

Again, this is just my personal opinion after seeing the tool, then reliving experiences in working with clients on their designs and them asking this question about "top fold" display. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing as I'm sure others in the Moz community may find use in it and bookmark it for their bag of tricks also

Cheers! - Patrick

[crackingmedia]

Hi Ron

It looks OK. However, you might find http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ more useful though with details of how to use it here: http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/static/about-browser-size.html

Google said it was going to be retired in June last year but it's still going, probably because people do find it useful.

I hope that helps,
Peter