Eyetrack Shows How Visitors Read News Web Sites
Marketing guru Seth Godin points to a study about how visitors read news web sites. It’s all based on tracking technology designed to show what the eye is looking at on the screen.
I’ve only had time to skim the report so far, but it is clearly fascinating reading. Just take a look at the chart that shows the most important zones on the home page of a news site … it runs counter to what the conventional wisdom has been within many circles about where to place the most important content.
Anytime you have access to solid research on how to layout and design web sites, you should take advantage of it. Gut feels work some of the time, especially after you’ve been in the game a while, but nothing beats some real evidence to back up those gnawing feelings — or to prove them wrong.