What Is the F Pattern?

No, we're not trying to be rude. The F pattern refers to the way internet users navigate their way around a web site, blog, online data or search engine. A recent study by Jakob Nielsen tracked the eye movements of 232 internet users as they read thousands of different web pages and discovered that the most used reading pattern was F-shaped. (Click the link to read more about the study.)

Three common attributes characterize the F pattern:

• First, users read horizontally across the top of a web page. This is where you grab their attention with a dynamite headline.
• Next, users skip down the page a bit and read horizontally across the page a second time, but they only read about halfway across the page this time. This is where you put your most important content.
• Lastly, users scan the left side of a site in a vertical movement. Pack in your key words here to lure them deeper into your site.

How can you use this knowledge to improve your web site?

• As much as you might hate to admit it, visitors to your web site won't read every carefully crafted pearl of wisdom you write. They scan for something that catches their attention, then move on. If you don't snag them in the first line or two, they've clicked away and are gone.
• You need to get your most important points into the first paragraph or two of your text.
• Use keywords at the start of the header and opening paragraph. If the user doesn't see what he came for right away, he'll click away. Use keywords in major divisions, subheads, bullet points and in bold sentences. Pop keywords into the left column of your site to catch the user's final scan.

When you design your web site or web page, keep the F pattern in mind and you stand a better chance of catching the visitor's attention and keeping them on your site.