How People Read on the Web – They Don’t!
April 7th , 2010
Web users very rarely read everything they see from website to website, they normally scan pages looking for key words, titles, headings, sub-headings, list items and links. Only when they find something interesting that catches their attention will they read the page word for word. So how do people read the web? They Don't!
I won’t sit here and pretend to know the psychology of the user while browsing web page content, I’ll simply state what I know and the sources in which back up my statements to help you understand that just because you’ve written something for your website, does not necessarily make it content worthy. There are tips and tricks to catch people’s attention and most importantly keep their attention.
Jakob Nielsen is by far one of the most sought out advisors when it comes to website usability and field research. His group “Neilsen Norman Group” which consists of various professionals in their line of work and they hold numerous conferences in which one day I would like to attend. I’ll let you do your own research so I won’t go to much off topic.
When you pick up a newspaper are you reading it from left to right, top to bottom, word for word before you turn the page? Most likely not, for myself, I tend to scan very quickly only looking at images and headlines of each story. If I find something interesting, I may read the article, however when I do start to read the article something else starts to happen. If it is too long, boring or gets off point, I’ll lose interest and not even finish the article or simply skip to the last paragraph to find out the conclusion or summary to the whole story.
On the web as true with print, when formatting a story or article it is best to take the “Inverted Pyramid” approach. Starting with the summary or main topic of your story at the top of the page and then working down into the finer details of your article. If you are going to catch the attention of your readers, you best do it in the first paragraph if you plan on giving your article a fighting chance that someone will read the last line.
Since I’ve concluded by putting my summary at the top of the page, did you end up making it to this line, the bottom of my posting or did you scan this page and see that I've bolded this text? I’ll be curious to find out as I’m still learning and doing research on how people’s behaviour dictates how websites are designed, laid out and how text and copy appears to the users. As I read and learn more from Jakob Nielsen, I'll try to give my 2 cents worth and my experiences over the years.
Thanks for reading! - Troy
