How To Make Sure Your Visitors Read What You Write! - A Lesson From Journalism 101

When most people open a newspaper, they look for the most interesting, bold and colorful images on the page. There is no time to read a whole newspaper from cover to cover, just as there is no time to read every single word on a web page, especially if it is really full of text.

Readers today are generally referred to as "scanners" because that is what they do. They scan the page looking for the most interesting item on the page, which often makes the contents obsolete.

This is a great difficulty for people in the content industry because it means that we have to write sensational, catchy and often cliched stories. This is where the design of a page becomes crucial, both in the print and Internet industries.

More is not always better.

HOW PEOPLE READ:

Mario Garcia, a pioneer in newspaper design in the USA, developed a format called EYETRAC, which shows how a reader looks at a page, also known as page navigation.

We start at the top in most cases, or at a strong visual point of entry, and then move around the page. This is why most well designed newspapers and web pages will put a photograph or graphic at the top of the page, near to the main headline or line of type.

A reader generally looks at the page in the following order: Photo, headline, caption, and text. Text is last, and unless he previous elements convince them that there is something to read, they will turn the page or scroll down.

For this reason, it is vital to put different information relating to the subject in each element. Don't repeat the same information in the picture and in the headline and then explain exactly what the picture is. For example, if Bob Jones is holding a 50 kilogram fish, don't say, "This is Bob Jones with his 50 kilogram catch," when your headline is "Bob Jones lands 50 kg monster!"

YOUR FIRST PARAGRAPH:

It is also important to make the first 25 words of your text captivating and interesting so that the reader will be hooked into the page.

It is also useful to make that first paragraph a bit bolder so that it attracts attention, but not too much so that it unbalances the page.

Keep in mind that people on the Net make their decisions about web sites based on what loads first, and what loads quickly - normally what they see in the first screen view.

Make your first screen count!

BTW. the same also applies to emails you send out.

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Creating websites: Improving the user experience?
We want to hear your view. Write now!