F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content

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

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Eye Tracking

Testing Web Sites with Eye-Tracking

Thanks to some recent usability studies we conducted using an eye-tracking system, we now have real evidence of where users actually look when they view a web page. It’s clear that users quickly learn to look where they expect to find content. They also quickly learn to avoid areas where they don’t see—or expect—what they’re looking for, including banner ads and parts of the page outside the central area.

Schroeder, Will. User Interface Engineering (1998). Articles>Usability>Web Design>Eye Tracking

Using Eye Tracking to Compare Web Page Designs: A Case Study    

A proposed design for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Web site was evaluated against the original design in terms of the ease with which the right starting points for key tasks were located and processed. This report focuses on the eye tracking methodology that accompanied other conventional usability practices used in the evaluation. Twelve ASCO members were asked to complete several search tasks using each design. Performance measures such as click accuracy and time on task were supplemented with eye movements which allowed for an assessment of the processes that led to both the failures and the successes. The report details three task examples in which eye tracking helped diagnose errors and identify the better of the two designs (and the reasons for its superiority) when both were equally highly successful. Advantages and limitations of the application of eye tracking to design comparison are also discussed.

Bojko, Agnieszka. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Eye Tracking

Eye Movement Patterns on Single and Dual-Column Web Pages

This study examines eye movement patterns of users browsing or searching a 1-column and 2-column news article on a web page. The results show a higher number of fixations for information in the second column of an article than for the same information in the lower portion of a single column. In addition, the typical "F" pattern appeared in the left column of the 2-column layout, but not in the right column. Users also fixated more on other page elements, such as ads, when they were browsing than when they were searching.

Shrestha, Sav and Justin W. Owens. Usability News (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Eye Tracking

How Do Users Browse a Portal Website? An Examination of User Eye Movements

This study examined the eye movement patterns of users browsing a web-based portal interface. Results demonstrate consistent scan patterns in both 2 and 3-column portal layouts. In the 2-column portal, users viewed the page through the top, left channel and proceeded to scan the rest of the portal page in a reverse 'S' pattern by row. In the 3-column portal layout, users typically started scanning in the top, center channel, and then proceeded to scan in a reverse 'S' pattern through the rest of channels by row. Implications of these results to portal design are discussed.

Owens, Justin W. and Sav Shrestha. Usability News (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Eye Tracking

When It Comes to Homepages, It is Polite to Stare

That one webpage bears all the promotional burdens that would typically be spread through an entire printed edition of your newspaper. Your homepage begins to look as though a dozen designers from different departments each built their own piece.

Small, Jay. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Eye Tracking

Using Eye Tracking to Compare Web Page Designs: A Case Study  

A proposed design for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Web site was evaluated against the original design in terms of the ease with which the right starting points for key tasks were located and processed. This report focuses on the eye tracking methodology that accompanied other conventional usability practices used in the evaluation. Twelve ASCO members were asked to complete several search tasks using each design. Performance measures such as click accuracy and time on task were supplemented with eye movements which allowed for an assessment of the processes that led to both the failures and the successes. The report details three task examples in which eye tracking helped diagnose errors and identify the better of the two designs (and the reasons for its superiority) when both were equally highly successful. Advantages and limitations of the application of eye tracking to design comparison are also discussed.

Bojko, Agnieszka. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Eye Tracking