oswebdesign.co.uk Blog

How do visitors read websites?

Presumably you have a website because your aim is to convert visitors into customers (or subscribers).    It’s therefore important for you to understand how your visitors scan and read your pages so that you can position the most important elements of your web pages in the most effective place.

On the whole people tend to ‘scan’ web pages rather than actually read them, picking out individual words and sentences.  Research tell us that visitors read horizontally, usually across the upper part of the content area. They then move down the page a bit and read across also horizontally, and typically, for less time than previously.  Finally, they typically scan the left hand side vertically.

Homepage layout
The visitor’s eye usually fixes first on the top left hand side of the page, before it starts to scan from left to right. Only after hovering over the top portion of the page does he or she tend to explore further down the page.

Headlines
Upon entering a new page, dominant headlines most often draw the eye first, especially when placed towards the top left, (and sometimes towards the top right).  Photographs, contrary to common belief, aren't typically the entry point to a homepage. Compelling text is a more powerful way of keeping your visitor’s interest.  People view both the headline and content underneath it when the headline is bold and a similar size to the content text.  When viewing a headline which is larger than the content which stands out on it’s own line, people tend to view the headline and skip the content.

Also, underlined headlines tend to discourage people from reading content on a homepage which is exactly the opposite of what you want them to do.
When visitors read content under headlines on homepages, they often only look at the left one-third.  In other words, most people just look at the first couple of words, and only continue reading if they are compelled by what they’re reading.

Typically a headline has less than a second of a site visitor's attention. This backs up the fact that your first couple of words need to really grab the attention of your website visitors.  This is also true for content – make sure that your first few words are descriptive and really grab the viewer's attention.

Typeface
If you want your visitors to read (rather than scan) your site, try using a smaller typeface as this encourages people to be more focused on what they are reading.  Larger headlines encourage scanning (as opposed to reading)  more than smaller ones but of course you still need to ensure the font is large enough for your visitors to read!

To scroll or not to scroll
As you would expect, the areas you have to scroll down to view are not viewed that often. However, that doesn't mean you can't get people to look at content which is positioned low down on a scrolling page.

Their eyes typically scan lower portions of the page seeking something to grab their attention. Their eyes may become fixed on an interesting headline or a word which really stands out, but not on other content. Again, this points to the necessity of sharp headline writing.

Where to locate your Navigation
Navigation placed at the top of a homepage performs well and is seen by the highest percentage of people and looked at for the longest duration. More people view right-column navigation for longer than left-column navigation.

Article layout & style
Short paragraphs receive more attention than those with longer paragraphs as the longer paragraph format seems to discourage viewing. Surprisingly people tend to look at text elements before accompanying photos and the use of summary descriptions which lead into articles are popular with website visitors.

Images
Larger online images tend to hold the eye longer than smaller ones and clean, clear facial images attract more attention on homepages.

So, here are a few reminders you can use when thinking about your website design:

• Place your most important message to the top left of your home page
• Don’t underline or bold your headlines
• Use a small typeface for your content
• keep your paragraphs short
• Use large images on your site

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