How To Optimize Web Pages For The Eye Gaze-Review

Yes, Optimize For The Eye Gaze UX

Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash

Yes, indeed it’s all about how to optimize the eye gaze user experience.

Which user doesn’t love a great optimized and easy to navigate web page? I bet we all do!

Conversion optimization studies have shown that there’s a web browsing pattern that is common to most users.

Online reading is very much different from printed material reading. People tend to scan text and images they look at upon arriving at a web page.

So, if you are a business owner putting together a website, this is a very important piece of information to be aware of. The old method of just lumping images and text on a web page or even in your email can no longer be employed. If you are going to convert traffic into sales, then it’s a different ball game.

CXL Institute has some eye tracking studies which can help your small business to optimize your digital assets. There are many other heat-map research reports which have verified the browsing patterns by web users.

In 2006, a Nielsen article was published after an eye tracking study of about 200 users. The report identified that the users actually browsed web pages in the F-pattern.

So what does this mean for the business owner who needs to grow your web presence? By the way, the user experience presented on social media sites is very different from standard websites. The user eye scanning or browsing is not the same. Hence the need for you to study and understand the two environments separately.

How Do You Put Together A Winning Page?

This is for you the business owner. Do you know how? No? I didn’t think so. Time to learn.

Here is what I have learned from the educational stuff the folks at CXL Institute have put together. Go check them out. They are supposed to be the experts in conversion and optimization of-course.

Once again, if you want to grow your small business’s web presence or perhaps to get schooled in optimization, I encourage you to check out CXL Institute.

Alright then back to business. I mean the business of user web page eye gaze.

When you are assembling a persuasive landing page, be sure the elements that “pop” are the ones that matter, and that you aren’t giving too much weight to visuals that don’t encourage customers to take action.

excerpt: neilpatel.com/blog/eye-tracking-studies

Understanding The Eye Gaze Reading Patterns

According to the CXL Institute on understanding the online reading patterns, there’re 3 most common reading patterns. I must confess that before signing up to this CXL Minidegree in ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion, I had very little awareness of these reading patterns. Thank God that I am now enlightened so I can work better to help my fellow entrepreneurs.

So here are the 3 most common reading patterns as taught by the CXL Institute.

The F-Pattern:

It is now recognized that a reader arriving at your web page for the first time will read your page in an F-shaped manner. They will begin the eye gaze reading from the left side of the page horizontally.

This to a large extent will normally be across the upper content area. Additionally the reading or scan will be skewed more towards the left side of the screen when browsing the page or even when looking at search results.

Sometimes it may be that a user’s eye gaze on a page may completely ignore the very first content line if it is not appealing.

However, should the 1st line be of great interest, the user will proceed into the second horizontal eye gaze and likely this will be shorter than the first movement.

Once satisfied with the initial eye scan of the content, the user will most likely get into the next or what is termed as the 2nd reading pattern.

Layer Cake Pattern:

Now it’s time to consume cake! Nooo!!! Not that kind of cake. This is when your user is happy with the content on your page. It’s exploration time.

The user is getting committed. they are now scanning more. This kind of eye gaze is in a layer cake fashion. The user is mostly reading the headlines very quickly in a horizontal manner looking out for those areas of interest. If this strikes a cord, then onto the next pattern.

Spotted Patern

It’s time to dig deeper! The layer cake has been consumed. In this pattern, the user is showing some interest. They are now looking for the attraction or those great ideas you have on your website. The eye gaze is telling you that you may have done a good job, but hey hang on.

Is this all? I didn’t think it would end here either. There’s more to these eye gaze patterns.

The question is….

How Do You Capitalize On This Information For Your Webdesign?

According to the CXL Instructors, and I now agree, this is the way to use this info.

Take a look at this extract from the notes on the CXL website

“You need to make the text more scannable. Position the most important text along the F-line breaking the text into convenient paragraphs; that each line starts with the catchy word. We recommend utilizing the following elements for better scanning:

  • bolded words
  • underlined text
  • words in color
  • 8 instead of eight
  • words in CAPITAL LETTERS
  • long words
  • words in “quotation marks”
  • words w/ trademarks™, copyright©, or other symbols “.

I admit that the training being offered by CXL Institute is very worthwhile. Even though some of the material is hard to understand, as I persist it has made me to realize that I needed this at the time of starting my business. I am learning a lot of things. It’s really worthwhile.

If you are thinking of upgrading your digital marketing skills for yourself or your team, I recommend the CXL Institute. The same is true if you already have a website and you are perhaps thinking of getting some conversion or optimization experts to look at it. Don’t hesitate to contact cxl.com

Well thank you for reading this post.

If you need help with your website, get in touch. Let’s talk. Or you may simply leave a comment in the box below.

Meantime, stay safe and stay blessed.

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