I’m a people watcher. It’s an art that goes back to my college psychology classes. I want to be a student of people. I learn a lot from interacting with them; and just observing.
I also like watching reactions and eye-glances. Especially when something unusual happens.
That’s why I LOVE the eye-tracking that’s going on in our industry. Computers and sensors monitor what people look at and what they do on a website.
Here are 3 interesting things about how people view websites. Your website.
- People almost completely ignore large blocks of text. So if you’re spending time wordsmithing; you’re probably wasting your time. Instead; write GREAT headlines and think “bullet-points” for the content. Write a short sentence rather than a long paragraph. (BTW, blogs, written in the 1st person, are an exception to this)
- Headline text will attract the eye even before pictures. This is interesting to me. It always was the opposite when I was starting my career. So edit, tweak, spend time developing amazing headlines. Subheads also are read. Make the picture enhance (bring to life) what the heads are saying.
- People spend more time with Menus and Buttons than anything else. I’m amazed at how few people spend time site-mapping their websites. Your menus and links NEED to tell the complete story. It’s like a great outline of a best-selling book. It should lead people to want to read more.
We work with lots of websites. We watch and learn from what people look at, how they react, and ultimately click on. And you should too. Be sure you know the simple purpose of EVERY page. And what reaction you expect.
Then use analytics to monitor the success and hone your website. It’ll be worth it.
