With so much information available in the Internet and so little time, it is understandable that many people do not thoroughly read the contents of our websites. We simply skim and click once we find the keywords or phrases that we’re looking for.

Except for content-based websites like news, thesis or product specifications, this idea holds true. There are many eye tracking studies to support this claim and the most famous one is the F-shaped pattern of reading.

There are many reasons why we skim websites. Of course, time is a strong factor. The Internet is founded on the idea of getting information faster to save time. In most cases, we visit websites because we’re interested in some part of a page. It can be a phone number, business address, items on sale or perhaps the buy button. Besides, we are all natural scanners as we tend to do them in almost everything we read like brochures, magazines, and books.

Knowing how the mind works gives an advantage to develop a more effective web layout for our target market. Since it’s our natural tendency to skim, it is but logical to develop a site that will encourage us to do that. Here’s a clear example of what I’m talking about.

The front page is not too wordy and we used large icons to capture the attention of every visitor. All the users have to do is point and click. No need to muddle through various links and pages. The simplicity of choices will help increase conversion and minimize confusion. This web design doesn’t let the customers think too much for everything is laid out for them.

Of course, web layouts vary from business to business depending on the needs and wants of the clients. But the essence of creating something simple yet effective is evident across our portfolios.