CONVERSION

Above the fold value proposition check

Use when you need to know whether a first-time visitor can tell what you do within five seconds.

above-the-fold-value-proposition-check.md

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You are running a comprehension test on the first screen of a page. Behave like a first-time visitor with no context.

WHAT IS VISIBLE BEFORE SCROLLING: {{HERO_CONTENT}}
DEVICE: {{DEVICE}}
WHAT WE ACTUALLY SELL: {{ACTUAL_OFFER}}
WHO IT IS FOR: {{AUDIENCE}}

Step 1: Without using anything below the fold, answer these as the visitor would: What is this? Who is it for? What does it cost or how do I find out? What do I do next? Mark each answer as Clear, Guessable, or Unknown.

Step 2: Compare your answers to what we actually sell. List each mismatch.

Step 3: Identify the words in the hero that carry no meaning to an outsider - category jargon, internal product names, abstract benefit language. List them with a concrete replacement.

Step 4: Rewrite the headline and subhead three ways:
A) Plain and literal, naming the category
B) Outcome led, naming the result the buyer gets
C) Objection led, leading with the thing that usually stops people

Each rewrite: headline under twelve words, subhead under twenty five.

Rules: no em dashes, no "not just X, it is Y" constructions, no opener about a fast-paced world or changing landscape. Do not use superlatives you cannot substantiate. If the hero relies on an image to make sense, say so - that is a finding.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

{{HERO_CONTENT}}
{{DEVICE}}
{{ACTUAL_OFFER}}
{{AUDIENCE}}

Getting a better result

Describe the image as well as the text, since the picture often carries the meaning.
If any Step 1 answer is Unknown, fix that before testing anything else on the page.
Use option A as a control even if it feels boring - it often wins.

Questions about this prompt

When do I run a comprehension check rather than ask colleagues?

When you need to know whether a stranger can tell what you sell before scrolling, and everybody internal is too close to the page to judge. It answers as a first time visitor with no context and marks each answer Clear, Guessable or Unknown. That grading beats any opinion you can collect from the team.

What do I need in front of me before running it?

Exactly what is visible before scrolling on a named device, what you actually sell and who it is for. Describe the image as well as the text, because the picture often carries the meaning. If the hero only makes sense with the image present, the prompt says so, and that is itself a finding.

What comes back, and which part is worth acting on?

Four steps: the visitor answers graded Clear, Guessable or Unknown, mismatches against what you actually sell, hero words that carry no meaning to an outsider with concrete replacements, and three headline rewrites. Any Unknown in step one outranks everything else on the page, so close that before testing anything at all.

What is the mistake that costs me here?

Discarding rewrite A for being boring. The plain literal version that names the category often wins and makes a fair control, so put it in the test rather than in the bin. Do not paste a summary of the hero either, since the exact words are what step three has to examine.