Using Web Templatess for Web Design: Tips and Best Practices--Efficient Viewing
Determine, then design, the most efficient viewing and use of information on each page.
Users spend about 58% of their time using information on the site (viewing, scanning, reading, printing, downloading, etc.). To allow efficient use, tradeoffs are usually required. For example, on some pages it is worthwhile to sacrifice ease of reading for ease of scanning. Developers should evaluate the most common use of each page and make design decisions that ensure the best possible performance. Structure each page to facilitate scanning and help users ignore large chunks of the page in a single glance. Studies report that between 75% and 79% of users scan any new page. Only 16% read word-by-word. Also, most users (78%) tend to focus first on text, not graphics.
