Web page views get an 'F'

Jacob Nielsen, renowned Usability expert, says that a recent study on eyetracking visualizations shows that users read web pages in roughly an "F" shape. He lists three main implications of that:

• Write for scanners.
  Users won't read your text thoroughly. They scan parts of pages.
• Use the inverted pyramid writing style.
  The first couple of paragraphs must contain the most important information.
  This is not news to anyone versed in newspaper writing. You start with the "Who, what, where, when, why" (the 5 Ws), and sometimes "How" of a straight news story. Then and only then do you elaborate.
• Put key words in heads, bullets.
  Your page's subheads, paragraphs, and bullets should all contain key words that users will notice as they scan down your page (down the left side of the "F").

Related tips

• Use flush-left subheads vs. centered ones. Centered ones are a good bit in from the left, where readers seem to want to read.
• Use bolding in subheads and perhaps even in the start of bullets. Bolding makes words stand out and might increase the chances of getting read. Just don't go bold-happy. A long stretch of bolded text slows down readers.