Peeking into Web surfers' brains
An interesting new study reported on in Sunday's USA Today purports to be "a sneak peek into people's brains,” according to the research firm's research director. The Nielsen Norman Group claims to offer companies an insight into what works and what doesn't with web site design. Their study underlines a key problem facing all web sites: the difficulty of finding a balance between good design and effective information provision. It points to web sites such as Jet Blue's, which they say get it right. On the other hand, one of Sony's websites (the report isn't clear which one) is apparently an example of ineffective web design.
The study's findings include the following:
- 1.) "Individuals read Web pages in an 'F' pattern. They're more inclined to read longer sentences at the top of a page and less and less as they scroll down. That makes the first two words of a sentence very important. 'People are extremely good at screening out things and focusing in on a small number of salient page elements, says Jakob Nielsen, a principal at the firm.
2.) "Surfers connect well with images of people looking directly at them. It helps if the person in the photo is attractive, but not too good looking. Photos of people who are clearly professional models are a turnoff. 'The person has to be approachable,' Pernice Coyne [the firm's director] says.
3.) "Images in the middle of a page can present an obstacle course.
4.) "People respond to pictures that provide useful information, not just decoration.
5.) "Consumers will peek at ads in search engines as a 'secondary thing,' Nielsen says, since they usually have specific product targets in mind."
posted by hdougie at 3/29/2006 08:30:00 AM
9 Comments:
I think that it is really interesting to read research about the mind of an internet surfer. I think that their research is very true, or at least, I feel that it applies to me. Sometimes when I am searching the web, I tend to read the first few sentences on the site and if they seem interesting, I'll continue to read. Another thing that wasn't really mentioned that I feel is important is the sheer use of vocabularly in sentences. In communication 261 we've talked about when we are writing reader scripts, to be careful about the sophistication of the word choice, because people don't want to bother reading it if it seems to difficult. I also think that it is an interesting thought that people are interested in looking at pictures only if it enhances the information and that the person should not be overly attractive. While that seems believable, it also seems that people get critical of people in ads or in the commercial industry if they are not airbrushed to perfection.
-Mary Kate Scanlon
I found that this weblog entry was pretty much accurate for me. If a website has too many pictures that do not serve any purpose at all, I tend to scroll right past them without giving them much thought at all. I did check out Jet Blue's website and they use their pictures for links, or their pictures are very small. I also found it to be accurate that when reading a website, people tend to read in the "F" pattern. If I am scrolling through a long webpage with a lot of reading, I'll get very bored and skip parts that don't spark my interest. This is especially true for gaming websites. I can always scroll through and find the parts that captivate my interest. I also looked through some sony sites, and found that they tend to use a lot of larger sized pictures(even on the home page)that served little or no purpose other than making the site look decent. Images that are smack dab right in the middle of the page for no reason do tend to be looked right over. I also found it accurate that the pictures of people need to be approachable, but still attractive. I find that ads in search engines are not even a secondary thing for me. I never even pay attention to them. All in all, I find USA Todays research on "surfer's brains" to be very accurate.
Kyle Wright
It is very interesting that people are doing research to figure out what goes on in a web surfer's mind. I think that it is very important to know what people will be attracted to when going online, especially since the internet has become so huge. Everyone uses it from things to shopping, finding the news, and merely browsing. I think that the points found in the study are very true. Like the inverted pyramid for writing, the 'F' pattern places the most important information at the top. I know when I go online I don't like to spend a lot of time reading something that's long to find out a small amount of information. I also find that when pictures represent useful information I would rather look at it than if the picture did not represent anything. These studies will become increasingly more important as the internet continues to expand.
- Hailey Miller
COMN 160
It's neat to see the results of the research into web users. I think the F-pattern of reading is the most relevant characteristic in my experience. When scrolling down a page, I'm less and less likely to invest the time it takes to read full sentences the further I go. I don't really understand the one about the pictures though. Why are people who are most attractive unapproachable? I mean, you don't really have to interact with them or anything. As for the ads in search engines, I almost never pay attention to them. They often seem untrustworthy simply because they try to snare you when looking up information.
-Chris Boyce
Comn 160
Like most of the posters have stated already, I thought it was very interesting to examine these results and relate them to my own Internet browsing experience. I thought points 1 and 3 were especially pertinent to how I view web pages. Because most of my Internet surfing is on sports-related sites, I tend to read a lot of articles that have "old" information to me. Once I sift through the "new" information in an article, I'm obviously far less inclined to read the news I've already heard. I'm not sure if this is exactly the same as the "F" pattern mentioned in the article because I read like that for a different reason, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Also, if there is a long article that I've never read before and is interesting to me, even if I want to read the rest of the article, I find I won't if there's an image in the middle of the page. It's very distracting, so that point resonated with me as well.
Brian Galliford, Comn 160
I also thought that this was interesting. The whole "F" thing was very true and the picture thing; i don't really pay much attention to the picture on sights though. But one thing that i believe should be included is the coloring of sites; if a site has powerful coloring then i am likely to move on to one that takes a more calm, neutral color pattern.
Anastasia Emerson
I think it is very interesting to think about issues like this. With the way the web has blown up in the past 5-10 years it is now simply a way of life, not a luxury. Anything and everything can be found on the web and it is the quickest way to receive information, on any topic of choice. One of the really interesting things to me is online advertsiments. Although they are all over the place, i dont see them as very effective. Personally I dont pay any attention to any links online that may or may not be related to what I am searching for. Especially pictures or adds in the middle of an article, they seem pointless and ineffective as I never look or pay attention to them. With so much on the web these days consumers are not going to waste their time on things other than what they are looking for specifically or what they had in mind.
-Justin Zacharias
Com 160
Its no surprise that the Nielsen Group has started to investigate effective viewing of the web because they have been considered experts in effective television. Everything that they have found though seems to be quite rational. The F pattern really makes sense, mixing long sentences with shorter ones further down and mixing pictures inbetween. I find myself getting bored with long narratives, and sometimes even some of the longer blogs. But the internet will soon become the "new television" and finding ways to maximize efficiency on this platform is one that companies will need to continue sucess with the updating technology.
David Utnick
Com160
I think that any form of advertising in the media is crucial yet can also be very distracting and sometimes annoying. If I'm surfing the web I don't exactly feel the need to click on any of the pop up ads or secondary ads.
amanda olszowy
comn. 160
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