People scan, they don't read: writing for the web

On a typical visit people read about a fifth of the words on a page, and their eyes follow a predictable shape. Write and design for scanning, and the right fifth gets read.

Most website copy is written as if it will be read from top to bottom. The research on how people actually use web pages says otherwise.

About 20 percent of the words

In 2008, Jakob Nielsen analysed a study that instrumented the browsers of 25 people and logged more than 45,000 page views. On an average visit, people had time to read at most 28 percent of the words, and about 20 percent was more likely. Each extra 100 words added only around four seconds to a visit, so most added text goes unread. Only on pages of about 111 words or fewer could people read even half.

The participants were, if anything, more diligent readers than average, so the real figure may be lower.

The F-shaped pattern

Eye-tracking studies at Nielsen Norman Group found a recurring shape when people meet unformatted text: a sweep across the top, a shorter sweep a little lower, then a scan down the left edge. The first lines, and the first words of each line, get most of the attention. The pattern shows up on phones too, and is mirrored in right-to-left languages.

The F is not a goal. It is what happens when a page gives readers no better route: long paragraphs, no subheadings, nothing bold, nothing to hold on to. Good formatting changes the path.

Write for the scan

• Put the most important point in the first two paragraphs, and the most important words at the start of each line.
• Use subheadings that say something, so a skim of the headings tells the story.
• Turn lists into bullets and processes into numbered steps.
• Bold the few words that matter, not whole sentences.
• Use link text that says where it goes, never 'click here'.
• Cut. Every sentence competes with the ones you most need read.

A visitor who scans your page and finds the answer is a success, not a failure. The job of the writing is to make sure the scan lands on the right words.