Read the following excerpt from my book ‘The NZ Small Business Superhero’s Marketing Handbook’ and discover how understanding the ways humans interact with web pages can help increase traffic to your website…
The first important point is that web users have a tendency to “scan” and “skim”, rather than read content from start to finish. No great surprises there. This is actually no different to how we often read print material as well, but the practice is even more pronounced online. The implication of this for effective web design is that all content should be set up to be scanned and skimmed as easily as possible. This means the content needs to be broken into scannable “chunks” of content, each with a clear label or heading, and then within these chunks, the content should be as easy to skim as possible. I’ll discuss how to achieve this soon.
The various studies that have looked into the scanning patterns that typical web users engage in have labelled it either a Z-pattern 2, or an F-pattern. In fact it’s not exactly a Z or an F, but the general idea is that it follows the pattern outlined below, which is (sort of) like a series of Zs which (sort of) make up an F. You get the idea… Regardless of whether you think this pattern is more like an F or more like a Z, it definitely gives us some clues about how to design our web pages.
The home page is the most important page on a website. It is almost always the most viewed page; it is often a prospect’s first impression of the company and website; and it is the page that visitors return to, so they can reorient themselves before exploring more content. The prospect arrives at the site with certain goals in mind. These goals will involve finding answers to certain questions and having certain persuasion requirements met. Web users are a new breed of media consumers, unlike any previous generation such as newspaper and magazine readers, radio listeners or TV viewers. Rather than experiencing content as it is presented to them, web users expect to be in control of the process and to interact with the content on their terms.
Typically a visitor arrives at a page from a search engine having clicked a link which they hope will help them achieve their goals. They will scan the page looking to make a connection with what is already in their mind, before choosing their next move. Research shows that many users ignore the navigation menu, and go straight to scanning the content. The typical scanning pattern outlined above suggests the typical visitor will start in the top left hand corner, move across the top from left to right before going diagonally back down the left to rest in the center of the page, before repeating the pattern down the page. The first question any web visitor needs to have answered before they go any further is: “Am I in the right place?” Therefore the content across the top of the page, between points one and two in the diagram below, should answer this question as clearly and succinctly as possible.
This area is the Header, and answers the question: “Am I in the right place?” The next question the visitor will have is: “What’s in it for me?” By now they will have typically scanned down to the region between points three and four, so this is where you should feature your main benefit, or identify the main problem that you provide a solution to.
The Main Copy Panel area answers the question: “What’s in it for me?” From here, the visitor continues their scanning pattern, seeking information that will answer their questions (the ones they have explicitly in mind, as well as the ones they haven’t yet articulated, but are there nonetheless) and meet their persuasion requirements. So it is important that the rest of your home page consists of scannable chunks of content that address the questions and concerns of your perfect prospect. These areas are your Secondary Copy Panels and address your prospect’s key persuasion requirements.
The inside pages of a small business website tend to revolve around a business. How each page is structured will depend on what information is covered, but typically the page should consist of a header, a main content section, and either one or two side panels. On content pages the header is just as important as on the home page, firstly, to provide consistency across the website, but also because your home page is not necessarily the page the new visitors will arrive on first,
so it still needs to answer: “Am I in the right place?” The main content panel will often consist of an article on a topic related to the business, together with images and video content. The side panels can carry a combination of navigation information, scannable chunks of content linking visitors through to related content, or calls to action that lead the visitor deeper into their buying process.
A product page, such as the one on the facing page from Kid Republic is one that presents the details of a single product. A product page includes descriptive text, images, and purchasing information, such as availability and price. A product page also includes some mechanism for purchasing the item, or adding it to an enquiry list.
The key issue is that product pages tend to suffer from information deficit. Just as websites should fulfill all information requirements about the business, so should product pages in relation to the product. It’s rare to see product descriptions that tell prospects everything they need to know to make a purchasing decision. The other important aspect is that it must be clear and easy to purchase or enquire about the product. Following a study in 2009, usability guru Jakob Nielsen came up with this checklist for effective product:
- Product has descriptive name, usually accompanied by a recognisable image;
- Product description includes all the factors customers care about;
- Page shows total cost, including price, delivery/shipping charges, and tax;
- Page states availability of product and shipping time and costs;
- Page has links to manufacturer’s warranty and site’s guarantee or return policy;
- Page presents highly visible ways of adding items to the shopping cart.
The two most important aspects of effective product pages are quality images and product descriptions which answer as many customer questions as possible. Depending on the product, it may also be important for the product page
to:
- Offer customer opinions and/or expert ratings;
- Have the capability to enlarge the product image to see details including showing rotated or alternative views;
- Provide a means to specify — and view as specified — product options, such as colour and finish.
To read more, you can purchase my book ‘The NZ Small Business Superhero’s Internet Marketing Handbook’ by clicking here.
