Convert Above-Fold - Hero Hierarchy Engineered for the Four-Layer Open

"Your opening has one job: make them keep reading." - The Donahoe Method, Framework 1

The first viewport is where the Method either lands or dies. This skill engineers the above-fold zone so the visual hierarchy carries Layer 1 (Nerve Strike) of the Four-Layer Open and points the reader straight into Layer 2 (Side Door). Every pixel above the fold is in service of "make them keep reading."

When to Use

Trigger phrases: "above the fold", "above-fold hero", "hero section design", "first viewport", "5 second test", "donahoe above fold", "what who next", /convert above-fold <product>.

Use when:

• Designing or rebuilding the hero zone of a sales page, VSL page, squeeze page, or lead-magnet page
• The reader currently fails the 5-second test ("what is this / who is it for / what do I do")
• The headline is right but the visual hierarchy is suffocating it
• Mobile and desktop hero need to be specced together (this skill handles both)

Do NOT use for:

• Full sales-page assembly - use /convert sales-page
• Auditing an existing live page - use /market landing <url>
• Generating only the headline copy - use /convert open (Layer 1 lives there)
• Scroll mechanics below the fold - use /convert scroll-rhythm

The Five-Second Test (Krug, popularized 2000)

A first-time visitor must, within five seconds, be able to answer three questions cold:

1. What is this? - the product/offer/promise
2. Who is it for? - the one person we're writing to (Donahoe Voice Rule #1)
3. What do I do next? - the primary CTA

If any answer is missing or fuzzy, the hero fails. Test by showing the page to someone for five seconds, hiding it, and asking the three questions. Repeat with three different people. Cold answers only.