Usability - what people look at and ignore on web pages

eye tracking imageEveryone who's observed, tested, or studied online reading agrees that people behave differently when online. When viewing a new page, they don't read-they scan. The word that best describes their behavior is: impatient. See research on how users read on the Web and how authors should write their Web pages.

There have been some interesting studies about what people read, look at, skip, and ignore on webpages - The diagram on the left shows the 'golden triangle' effect. There seems to be a "F" shaped scan pattern, where the eye tends to travel vertically along the far left side of the results looking for visual cues (relevant words, brands, etc) and then scanning to the right if something caught the participant's attention. See www.useit.com and www.eyetools.com for details.

How to interpret an eye tracking heat map.

Our usability consulting web design will help you maximise the effectiveness of your website. This will allow people who use the site to complete a goal, whether that be to buy a product, contact you, or simply find a piece of information. web design include....

  • usability testing
  • usability reports
  • user-centered design
  • web usability training
This web site has been validated and conforms to W3C Recommendations for XHTML and CSS. The site can be viewed in most current browsers and was tested on Internet Explorer, Mozilla/Firefox and Opera.

Read more ....

UIE article on why usability is so important Designing Web Usability: Read this article from usability guru Jakob Nielson on design for both users and search engines.
Key principles of user centred design: Get back to basics with these principles for building a highly usable website.
Usability First: Encourages readers to remember that usability should not be an afterthought.
The Usability Methods Toolbox: For the latest in usability methods.
People are impatient: Find out why people aren't going to wait for your website and what you can do about it.
Ten Quick Tests to Check your Web Site for Accessibility: Use this tutorial to find out if your website is accessible or not.
Lynx Viewer: See how your pages render in the Lynx text browser.
5-Second Tests: Measuring Your Site's Content Pages: Make sure your content is usable by utilizing these tests.
An Introduction to Accessible Design: Get the lowdown on accessible design here.