Study Finds Webpages are Read By People in an F-Shaped Pattern
A new study by usability expert Jakob Nielsen reveals that when webpages are read, we read and scan the text in an F-shape.
Using eyetracking software, he found the first paragraph gets the most attention, making the top horizontal line of the F. The next paragraph only gets half the attention of the first, tracing the second shorter horizontal line of the F. And finally, we skim down the rest of the article vertically.
The lesson for web content providers is anything important needs to be said in the first two paragraphs, as attention spans wane thereafter. But if that's true, you probably won't see this paragraph at all.