When you’re working on a web redesign, it’s imperative to know certain behavioural trends, such as how a user’s eye moves across the page. I am currently part of the redesign team for The Canadian Wildlife Federation (to be implemented in the new year) and eye tracking was an important part of our site analysis and wireframing. Seth Godin highlights some good eye tracking rules in his blog.
Here are some excerpts from his list relating to content developers:
- Headings draw the eye.
- Large blocks of text are avoided.
- Lists hold reader attention longer.
- One-column formats perform better in eye-fixation than multi-column formats.
- Shorter paragraphs perform better than long ones.
- Show numbers as numerals.
- Text attracts attention before graphics.
- Type size influences viewing behavior.
- Users only look at a sub headline if it interests them.
- Users spend a lot of time looking at buttons and menus (so make them clear!)
