Nice short article on how people quickly scan pages and its implications

[mouser]

Nice short article on how people quickly scan pages and what it means for web developers

Eyetracking visualizations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe...

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

from useit.com

[jgpaiva]

Very interesting article, straight to the point, and a good read.
It's unbelievable how it's right. And how the human mind follows some kind of parameters.
The truth is that i find myself reading stuff like that too.

[f0dder]

Obviosly the reading pattern will have something to do with how the layout of the site is done. I'd be much more interested in some tests that show how easily users lose interest / are confused by various site layouts. For example, something like slashdot tries to cram too much information onto the screen - but it's still only a pretty mild case.

[brotherS]

Thanks, mouser!

I followed a link on that site and found http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040217.html :

Summary:
E-newsletters that are informative, convenient, and timely are often preferred over other media. However, a new study found that only 11% of newsletters were read thoroughly, so layout and content scannability are paramount.

Obviosly the reading pattern will have something to do with how the layout of the site is done. I'd be much more interested in some tests that show how easily users lose interest / are confused by various site layouts. For example, something like slashdot tries to cram too much information onto the screen - but it's still only a pretty mild case.

You are totally right. A site has to 'come to the point' in a reasonably amount of time - and with bazillions of other sites out there the user is just one click away from going to another/a better one.