Website tips (part 2) – Directed scanning

In Website Tips (part 1) we discussed  tips for making text look more visually appealing (‘bad’ grammar, bullet points…etc).

In part 2, we will look at the website layout itself, and how to guide the reader through.

Beware of the ‘Fog’

I like to visualise it this way, to keep readers from going off on the wrong track:

1. You are guiding a group of people along a dangerous mountain path in thick fog (to persist with the ‘fog’ analogy from Website Tips Part 1)
2. You initially need to keep shouting short sharp commands to keep them safely on the path.
3. As they progress, they gain confidence and the fog clears; you can now coax and encourage them along with longer sentences.
4. Your group develops complete trust in you and reaches their destination safely.

4 types of ‘Scanning Behaviours’

Upon a first visit to a website, people very rarely ‘read’ any text. At least not whilst they are searching for something – they will always scan first.

If your readers (I am using the term advisedly – see above!) cannot find what they are looking for after a quick scan, they will probably give up and look elsewhere.

Here are the 4 types of scanning behaviour, ranked in order of ‘fickleness’:

• Directed scanning (most fickle) – looking for specific information and expecting to find it on the page, such as a name, word, or phrase [see Keywords]
• Impressionable scanning – looking more closely at a page as a result of the author’s name, be it a person or a company.
• Motivated scanning – looking through a page either because a link was followed, it was recommended by a friend, or it aligns with a personal interest
• Exhaustive review (least fickle) – looking extensively and repeatedly at a page to find the information they expect to find there.

From Z to F – what scanning means for your website structure 

• The ‘Z’ shape 
  • In Western languages, we are used to reading in a ‘Gutenberg Z pattern’; i.e. like a old typewriter, scanning from left to right at the top of the page, then returning to the left and repeating.
    • Attention flows ‘down’ the page (also known as ‘reading gravity’
    • Primary headlines should be placed at the top of a page
• The ‘F’ shape
  • In the online world, we now scan in the ‘F’ shape; i.e. we don’t read, but glance from left to right at the top of the page, then drop down and scan across in a more limited fashion

•  Users now have clear expectations about where they expect to find certain website elements
• The first 2 paragraphs MUST state the most important information
• Start sub-headings, paragraphs and bullet points with information-carrying or keywords
• Pictures help to anchor and retain interest, be it inserted into the text or on sliders

Further reading

Website Tips (part 1) – Avoiding ‘visual mishaps’