1. Remember you have very little time on your hands
I read somewhere that average page visit throughout the entire
internet is only 4 seconds. That doesn't give you enough time to make
an impression on the user and get him engaged with your site. That
means that you have to be as precise as possible in explaining what
the site you are designing is all about. If it takes more than few
seconds for user to figure out what the website is all about, he will
loose interest and browse away...
2. Remember that user scan the web
When you walk into the room you don't see every single face there.
First you only notice shapes of people and stuff that are inside. You
scan the room. Then you move on to something that grabs the attention.
Similar thing happens with first visit to the website. Users scan it
first. This is the point where you need to guide user wherever you
want him to go. It can be a login button, learn more button,
conversion form, blog post...
3. Up-left corner of the web site is most visible
This is well known fact. The main reason for this is that people read
books and articles that way (starting from up left corner) plus the
early web sites and applications were designed that way. We often put
logo in top left corner, and that is a good thing. But think about
adding another element or two up there to make it more prominent
(login link, search from, slogan...)
4. Learn about F pattern
Some eye-tracking case studies proves that users scan the web in a
shape of a letter F. Top area gets scanned all the way, middle area
half way through and lower area gets scanned only on the left side.
Just something to think about when you're having doubts on where to
put content blocks in your designs.
5. Learn what users ignore
Users are ad-blind. They learned to ignore banner ads or text ads.
Avoid designing anything that looks like an ad. Also, users ignore
large blocks of text. Nobody has the time (actually I would say
patience!) to read great blocks of text just to get an idea of what
the page is about.
6. Text vs graphics
One interesting fact. Text grabs more attention than any cool graphic!
If you want to deliver a message to your reader I suggest using a
large slogan instead of cool header image...
7. Grab attention with design elements
Good elements for grabbing attention are text slogans, call to action
buttons (usually using bright colors), various 1-2-3 steps list or
lists in general...
If you're writing a long article one of the most important things are
headings. Headings grab attention like nothing else. Use the headings
properly, explain the user what the article is about in just those few
simple steps.
8. Text Formatting
Text has more chance of being read when it's formatted properly. Don't
be afraid to use many paragraphs, bold and italic text blocks,
blockquotes, underlined or upper-case text... Anything that makes your
text block more visually attractive. Of course, you need to use
formatting to emphasize important words or sentences and guide your
reader through the article.
9. Use clean graphics
I already mentioned that users are ad blind. When you use graphics in
your design make sure that they're not too busy, messy and
non-understandable. Many people will find it hard to look at the image
that is too busy or colorful. Graphics needs to be clean and
non-confusing.
What you can use to grab attention with graphics are people faces,
especially when eyes on the photo are looking at the user. Also you
can use eyes on the photo to “point” users to a certain direction.
10. Use whitespace
Use whitespace to give some element more visibility. If a certain
element is too close to margins or other elements the things will be
confusing and messy. Give it some “air to breathe”. This especially
applies to text blocks.
I read somewhere that average page visit throughout the entire
internet is only 4 seconds. That doesn't give you enough time to make
an impression on the user and get him engaged with your site. That
means that you have to be as precise as possible in explaining what
the site you are designing is all about. If it takes more than few
seconds for user to figure out what the website is all about, he will
loose interest and browse away...
2. Remember that user scan the web
When you walk into the room you don't see every single face there.
First you only notice shapes of people and stuff that are inside. You
scan the room. Then you move on to something that grabs the attention.
Similar thing happens with first visit to the website. Users scan it
first. This is the point where you need to guide user wherever you
want him to go. It can be a login button, learn more button,
conversion form, blog post...
3. Up-left corner of the web site is most visible
This is well known fact. The main reason for this is that people read
books and articles that way (starting from up left corner) plus the
early web sites and applications were designed that way. We often put
logo in top left corner, and that is a good thing. But think about
adding another element or two up there to make it more prominent
(login link, search from, slogan...)
4. Learn about F pattern
Some eye-tracking case studies proves that users scan the web in a
shape of a letter F. Top area gets scanned all the way, middle area
half way through and lower area gets scanned only on the left side.
Just something to think about when you're having doubts on where to
put content blocks in your designs.
5. Learn what users ignore
Users are ad-blind. They learned to ignore banner ads or text ads.
Avoid designing anything that looks like an ad. Also, users ignore
large blocks of text. Nobody has the time (actually I would say
patience!) to read great blocks of text just to get an idea of what
the page is about.
6. Text vs graphics
One interesting fact. Text grabs more attention than any cool graphic!
If you want to deliver a message to your reader I suggest using a
large slogan instead of cool header image...
7. Grab attention with design elements
Good elements for grabbing attention are text slogans, call to action
buttons (usually using bright colors), various 1-2-3 steps list or
lists in general...
If you're writing a long article one of the most important things are
headings. Headings grab attention like nothing else. Use the headings
properly, explain the user what the article is about in just those few
simple steps.
8. Text Formatting
Text has more chance of being read when it's formatted properly. Don't
be afraid to use many paragraphs, bold and italic text blocks,
blockquotes, underlined or upper-case text... Anything that makes your
text block more visually attractive. Of course, you need to use
formatting to emphasize important words or sentences and guide your
reader through the article.
9. Use clean graphics
I already mentioned that users are ad blind. When you use graphics in
your design make sure that they're not too busy, messy and
non-understandable. Many people will find it hard to look at the image
that is too busy or colorful. Graphics needs to be clean and
non-confusing.
What you can use to grab attention with graphics are people faces,
especially when eyes on the photo are looking at the user. Also you
can use eyes on the photo to “point” users to a certain direction.
10. Use whitespace
Use whitespace to give some element more visibility. If a certain
element is too close to margins or other elements the things will be
confusing and messy. Give it some “air to breathe”. This especially
applies to text blocks.
