Eye tracking research finds surprises for web usability
Editor and Publisher columnist Steve Outing has found some interesting results from analysis of how the human eye scans websites.
An article by Steve Outing, author of the Stop the Presses column for Editor and Publisher, has found some interesting patterns in how the human eye scans websites.
The piece discusses how the human eye reacts to the navigational elements and layout of screens for the websites belonging to newspapers including Washingtonpost.com and LJWorld.com, and is based on a system called Eyetrack III that tracks how people view media.
In particular, it found that top-strap style navigation menus attract a great deal of attention, and that the space on the left-hand side of the screen, often used for detail navigation menus, is very high-yield space well suited to items to which you potentially might wish to draw particular interest, such as promotions or advertising. The research also found that underlining headline links on navigation pages tender to detract from people reading any following explanatory text.
The story can be found at:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/stopthepresses_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000681629