Why Web Users Scan Instead of Reading
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-web-users-scan-instead-reading/Generally, reading speed is reduced by 25% when reading online. Even reading iPads and tablets is faster than a PC but not faster than a printed book.
- One of the main reasons that layout is important is that reading text online is quite different from reading printed text.
- Reading on screen is tiring for the eyes, so people scan rather than read
- Lots of things to ‘Click’ on so people do
- Many competing pages - maybe the next one is better, so people forage rather than fixate on a page
- People don’t want to work too hard for information
- They will make comments like ‘if it doesn't come right out at me, I give up on it’.
- Webpage browsing behaviour
- Alternate between sites/pages
- Open pages in new windows/tabs and get distracted by the new content
- Read while scrolling (no fixation possible)
- Look at the top left first (English speakers)
- Banner and Ad blindness
- Be on the phone, talking, eating … .
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People look at web pages in an ‘F-pattern’ (for people reading pages in English).
image.png So what do people look at the most?
- Text first (even in the presence of multimedia) - to get a quick sense of what the page is about.
- Headings first, summary text, then images - ideally headings should be bigger than the rest of the text.
- Single column rather than two column content, certainly for slow readers - not necessarily for home pages, where people are gathering a sense of what is available to them. Once they have made a decision, the content should be presented as a single column.
- Lists, menus, links and buttons - to see what functionality the page has.
- Biggest image in a group.
- Navigation at the top of the page - because the eyeballs might not look at the bottom of the page at all.
- Smaller paragraphs of a group - because they have less words than longer paragraphs.
- Numbers as numerals rather than words - because numbers are smaller, and look more 'factual' than words, unless generalising e.g. thousands is more effective than 1000s.
- Effective layout
Taking advantage of the F-pattern for page reading:
- use keyword-rich sub-headings (try the ‘Clear read’ test - squinting at the page to see what stands out)
- use bullet lists, number of items depending on text
- have one idea per paragraph
- one idea per sentence
- use the inverted pyramid writing style, starting with the conclusion
- Use links.
- Effective language
- ‘Fluffy’, ‘Welcome’ text. Give it a page of its own.
- Marketese and boasts are bad for site credibility, unless you can link to something that backs it up.
- Metaphors, similes or figures of speech
- Only use Jargon, scientific words, foreign phrases, puns if it is relevant to users and says what the site is about.
- Level of education: Grade 9 to 10 or lower secondary education
- Get straight to the point with your content: no long word, cut word off if possible. Generally, you can remove 50% of the words without affecting the meaning.
- Be aware the page summary will be showed on search engine results.
