Netallianz Web Design

To engage your users, you will first need to know how users think and behave when surfing a website.

SCAN & CLICK

Basically user habits on the web are akin to customer habits in a shop.

Most people will glance at each new page, scan some of the text then click on the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles what they are looking for.

In fact, large parts of a web page often go unnoticed.

Most users search for something interesting, useful or clickable. As soon as some promising candidates are found, they click. That is why Google Adsense has worked so well over the years!

If the new page doesn’t meet users’ expectations, the Back button is clicked and the scanning process continues.

Conclusion:
Users don’t read…. they scan. In your web page design, you will need to capture user attention with certain images, font types and so on.

THE ANCHOR

When looking at a web page, users search for some fixed points or anchors which would guide them through the content of the page.

Besides your main navigation bar, well-placed links near focal areas can also be effective to bring users to another page.

The human eye is non-linear, so humans can instantly recognize edges, patterns and motions. That is why video ads and flash are extremely annoying and distracting, but from the marketing perspective they fit the job of capturing user attention.

If users do not scan a web page in a linear fashion, then how do they do it?

Answer: They go sequentially from a page section to another one.

Conclusion:
Think of some good anchors to use (eg well-placed links and catch phrases) and position them at each page fold. A page fold is basically that part of the web page that appears at each scroll interval.

NO PATIENCE

Sad to say, web users are mostly an impatient bunch and insist on instant gratification.

Therefore your website should be obvious and self-explanatory.

A clear structure aided by visual cues and easily recognizable links can help users to find their way.

The less intuitive your website navigation, the more likely your users will search for alternatives elsewhere.

Unlike economic theory, web users do not make optimum choices – seldom do they search for the quickest way to find the information they need.  Instead users choose the FIRST REASONABLE OPTION. As soon as they see a link that may lead to their goal, there is a good chance that the link will be clicked.

Conclusion:
Make your website intuitive, target your audience and provide them with plenty of signs to reach their goals.

TEST THE TRUTH OF THIS ARTICLE - It is simple…. the next web page you surf, just analyze your own behavior and see if the above holds true

A previous post on how to make your website user friendly can be found here.