When you write content for the web, you should know that people read a screen differently from the way that they read a page. Perhaps because information is so freely available on the web, and competition is so intense, people spend a lot less time looking for what they want, and tend to skim pages, rather than starting at the top and reading everything until they get to the bottom. If you write web copy as you would a novel or essay, your readers will probably skip away before they even finish the first paragraph.

In recent years there have been several studies conducted into the way that people look at web pages: the order that people look at the items on a page, and which items are most attractive to the eye. This is done by tracking participants' eye movements to see where their eyes "fixate" on pages most frequently.

A study done by the Nielson Norman Group found that users tend to look at web pages in an F-shaped pattern. You can see examples and details of the results on useit.com. Another study found that users tended to view pages starting at the top left corner and working down and right.

Ideally, this knowledge should be reflected in your page design. A logo at the top left of every page will improve your brand-strengthening, and you should make sure that you write your text in such a way that it is easy for your readers to skim down the paragraphs looking for the information they want. The first few words of each line should be chosen to grab your visitors' attention.

Jakob Nielson writes that you should also make sure that the most important points of your document appear in the first two paragraphs of your article, and that subheadings, paragraphs and bullet points should begin with information-carrying words that are likely to capture the attention of your readers. People are unlikely to read every sentence of your copy word for word, so you need to charm them into reading on by offering them relevant and interesting information at a glance.

As Nielson says, "The biggest determinant for content usability is how users read online - and because people read differently, you have to write differently."

By Brian Jackson

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