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05/04/2006: "How people read a Web page and what it has to do about web site design."

Before you design your Web site you need to know how real people in the real world read a site. It doesn't matter how you want them to read your site or how you think they should. All that matters is how they actually read it according to studies.

The eyes usually look in the upper left of the page first. Then they stay in that general area and go left to right. After looking over the top portion of the page for awhile they look further down the page.

Headlines draw the reader's eyes first when he go onto a page. This is very true if the heads are in the upper left side of the page or in the upper right. Photographs and graphics get very little attention. This is something graphic artists don't like you to know but it's true. Text rules on the PC screen -- both in order viewed and in overall time spent looking at the PC. Words matter most.

Viewers seem to look at both the headline and any blurbs when the headline is bold.

So these are some things to consider when creating your Web pages. Remember, words rule. And always think of how the eye tracks in reality . . . not the way you wish they would track.