| At our local coffee shop the other day an | | | | of the web page. Their attention forms the "F |
| acquaintance proudly displayed his newly purchased | | | | pattern" by running their eyes down the left side until |
| website on his laptop. He was rightly proud of it; the | | | | they get to the fold. They then scan the horizontal |
| site was a thing of beauty. It's a shame he can't | | | | navigation bar if there is one, drop their eyes a bit |
| hang it on his office wall rather than leave it on the | | | | and scan toward the center of the page, making the |
| Internet where so few people are likely to see it. | | | | lower horizontal line of the "F." If they don't find what |
| I find it hard to believe, but apparently there are web | | | | they are looking for in one of these three places |
| designers out there that have never heard of Jacob | | | | they are off to the next website. They don't bother |
| Nielsen's "F pattern." I guess an even older term, "the | | | | to look below the fold. As for flashing banners and |
| fold" must be unknown to some of them also. I say | | | | videos, they are so sick of them that they actively |
| this because my acquaintance's website had fewer | | | | avoid looking at them. |
| than seven words above the fold and not a single | | | | A friend sitting at the table with me remarked that |
| sentence in the F pattern--or anywhere else above | | | | the site would make a great business card. I agreed |
| the fold. To make things worse, instead of | | | | but failed to mention that even as a template for a |
| explanatory text in what would be the second | | | | business card it was lacking. The owner's name and |
| horizontal line of the "F," there was a flashing video | | | | number was nowhere to be found until you had |
| that told me absolutely nothing about my | | | | scrolled down to the very bottom--something I fear |
| acquaintance's business--I'm still not sure what he | | | | won't happen very often with this site. How much |
| does--and will almost certainly drive customers away. | | | | had my acquaintance paid for this disaster? Too |
| Studies show that web users focus their attention on | | | | much! |
| text-not images-located high and on the extreme left | | | | |