Understanding that people read web pages differently than other media is key to writing and laying out copy that will promote your business or product.

Reading a web page is closest to reading a newspaper. When you pick up a newspaper, do you start with the first word and read all the way down to the bottom of the page and then move on? No, not at all. You scan the front page for headlines that stand out to you, stopping on the ones that seem interesting and then reading through the article. Or even spotting a Headline for a story on Page 2 or the “Scene” section and turning to that story immediately.

People approach your website the same way– no matter what page they enter on your site- they scan the page for something that will keep their interest. Headlines, bullet items, text formatting and clear navigation all help the scanability of your page. If they came looking for a particular service or product- they are immediately on the lookout for more information about that topic of interest.

Make sure all the main pages of your site are easily scanable. Keep your visitors interest by making your headlines and navigation items obvious and relevant. Use appropriate text formatting, such as bolding and italics to draw the eye to important points. Don’t hide your links to other content on your site by changing the color or removing the underline.  These queues help visitors quickly find what they are looking for.