| Jun 15 |
 Stumble it! |  Digg it! |
Ever suspected there was something very quantifiable about the way users viewed website content? Turns out there is.
Studies have been conducted using retinal eye tracking equipment on average web surfers. This tells us exactly where people’s eyes are focused, how long they are focused for and even the order in which this process occurs. The surprising conclusion is that users almost always use an ‘F’ shaped viewing pattern.
Phase 1: Top horizontal
Users almost always read the first paragraph in great detail. They are highly focussed at this point.
Phase 2: Second horizontal
Users read part or all of the second paragraph. At this point they have almost always made up their mind about an article already.
Phase 3: The long left line
At this point users will quickly scan down the left hand side of the page to ‘check they haven’t missed something’. They will only notice the first 3-4 words of each line and are far more likely to notice something if it is on the first line of a paragraph or differentiated using a title, indentation or some other method that makes it stand out.
Phase 4: Extra horizontals
If something stands out during the ‘long left line’ it may well trigger additional horizontal lines to the ‘F’ pattern. The further down a page, however, the less likely it is to hold interest for very long.
Implications for web designers & bloggers
The first thing to remember is that those first two paragraphs will, without question, determine the success of your article.
Secondly, it’s hugely important to keep any further paragraphs short, snappy and well subdivided. This is the best way to trigger those all important extra horizontal lines of reading.
Thirdly, keep things short. Another observation made from these studies was that the further down the page, the shorter each of your horizontals will be.
Potential rewards
This theory, if well implemented, has the potential to give you a serious edge over other web sites. By keeping the ‘F pattern’ in mind you can design content that grabs your user’s attention, and doesn’t let go.
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