The F-pattern works on pages with long text organized in a large column on the left. Other headings are on the right, and the eye catches them one at a time.
Jakob Nielsen, “guru of Web page usability”, conducted an eye-tracking study, which recorded how 232 users scanned thousands of web pages. Here's what Nielsen found out about F-pattern:
• Users are unlikely to read every word of your text
• The first two paragraphs must state the key information and catch the reader's attention
• Start your subheadings, paragraphs, and bullet points with catchy keywords
Keep the F-pattern in mind when you are designing your webpage. Users read and scan across a page subconsciously following this pattern.
