Web Reading...its not just for Arachnid Psychics

Thats right... what I thought would allow me target insecure daddy long legs for profit, instead taught me how I should lay out my web pages. As a would be psychic... I suppose I should have seen it coming.

What people want:

• 'Meaningfull' sub heading, not 'clever' one's, fortunately I have a head start on most here... I am not clever enough to write clever sub headings. TICK
  

• People like to scan pages so use highlighting to catch the eye. TICK
  

• Limit to one idea per paragraph... are you serious? I can do better than that... one idea a year is my current rate. TICK

• Use bulleted lists and cut down the word count. TICK
  

• People like language to be objective, rather than my usual exaggerated style... I must have read that sort of thing a MILLION times. TICK
  

• Credibility is important. Just as the addition of egg, flower and breadcrumbs can transform a humble chicken breast into a delectable, golden schnitzel; so to can the addition of cool pictures, working links and good writing make a bland, relatively uninformed web site author seem somehow more palatable. TICK

All those TICKS must mean this is the perfect page. Thankyou NET11, It appears I have it mastered.

I found the whole F shaped reading pattern thing very interesting, I personally read things in a Q pattern and thus have found myself the victim of a new type of discrimination... lets not stand for it. Say NO to reading pattern bigots.

After reading all the suggested links (I will not bore you by commenting on all of them) I think it is important for people building web sites to be aware of the techniques that encourage visitors to read their sites. But it's also horses for courses, a site specialising in high end technical description is hardly likely to be easy reading, but those that want the information will persevere. Even in blogs, if people enjoy reading it, I don't think the layout would stop them, unless is was particularly dreadful! Commercial sites are where I think this stuff is of most relevance.