Myths
Eight website myths that cost you enquiries
Orange buttons, everything above the fold, the three-click rule. What research really says about well-known website rules, and what to do instead.
By the Webclouds team · 25 September 2026 · 3 min read
Many web rules were never researched
Anyone having a website built hears rules that sound like laws. "Everything has to be above the fold." "Orange buttons convert better." Some are partly true. Others were never researched. And a few cost you enquiries.
Below are eight well-known myths, with what the research really says and what to do instead.
1. "People don't scroll, so everything has to be above the fold"
Partly true. People do scroll, but their attention fades. In Nielsen Norman Group's eyetracking research, 57% of viewing time went to the first screen, 74% to the first two and 81% to the first three.
Better: put your message, one piece of proof and your button in the first screen. Everything a visitor really needs to see sits within three screens. The rest can go lower, for people who want to know more.
2. "People have an eight-second attention span"
Can't be verified. This number is repeated endlessly, but there's no original study behind it. What is known: people read roughly a fifth to a quarter of the words on a web page.
Better: write for people who scan. Put the most important thing first in your headings, use bullet points and bold at most one bit per paragraph.
3. "Every page must be reachable within three clicks"
False. Nielsen Norman Group found no published study that supports this rule. People happily click more often, as long as every click clearly feels like a step in the right direction.
Better: clear names in your menu and link texts that say where they lead. Do keep your most important service pages within two clicks of your homepage.
4. "A red or orange button converts better"
Can't be verified, and false as a rule. The famous test this comes from can't be traced. What does work: a button that stands out through contrast and space around it, not through a particular colour.
Better: choose one accent colour for your buttons, with the highest contrast on the page. Use that colour nowhere else. Your brand identity doesn't need to change for it.
5. "A carousel lets you show more offers"
False. Click data from the University of Notre Dame showed that about 1% of visitors clicked a slide. Of those clicks, 84% went to the first slide. The rest was barely seen.
Better: one message, one image and one button in your first screen. Got more to say? Put it in sections below each other.
6. "Everyone knows the hamburger menu"
Partly true. The three-line icon is well known, but a hidden menu gets used less. In Nielsen Norman Group research with 179 participants, hidden navigation on desktop was used in 27% of cases, against 48 to 50% for visible navigation. On mobile it was 57% against 86%.
Better: simply show your menu on desktop. On mobile: your button and one to three key links visible, the rest behind a button with the word "Menu" on it.
7. "A 5.0 is the best review score"
False. In research by the Spiegel Research Center, the chance of a purchase was highest with a score between 4.0 and 4.7. Towards 5.0 it dropped again: a perfect score raises suspicion.
Better: show your real average with the number of reviews and the platform. Don't hide critical reviews. Read more in reviews on your website.
8. "53% of mobile visitors leave after three seconds"
Partly true. This number comes from a 2016 Google estimate, based on a model and slow 3G connections. It isn't a measurement from today. That speed matters is well established, though. Vodafone tested it: loading the main image 31% faster brought 8% more sales.
Better: make sure your main image is visible within 2.5 seconds. One well-compressed image at the top, and third-party scripts loading last.
In short
Most myths have a grain of truth, but have grown into rules the research doesn't support. What does keep coming back: a clear message at the top, honest proof, a button that stands out and a fast site.
We'd rather measure what works for your site than assume it. That's exactly what website optimisation means at Webclouds.
Sources
- Nielsen Norman Group, Scrolling and Attention (eyetracking, 2018)
- Nielsen Norman Group, How Users Read on the Web
- Nielsen Norman Group, Hamburger Menus and Hidden Navigation Hurt UX Metrics (2016, 179 participants)
- Runyon, University of Notre Dame, carousel click data (2012-2013)
- Spiegel Research Center, How Online Reviews Influence Sales (2017)
- Google, estimate of mobile load time and abandonment (2016)
- web.dev, Vodafone: a 31% improvement in LCP increased sales by 8% (2021)
