"Sometimes you come up with an idea that requires creative and technical wizardry to provide an internal client with exceptional value. Then, after the initial excitement has worn off, the scale and difficulty of the task becomes apparent. 
HOW TO CATCH THE TRUFFLE-HUNTERS
The psychology of surfing the web and the way surfers read and process information is completely different to the way that printed material is read.
Web Page vs Printed Page
Internet readers read differently to hard copy readers. Most websites don’t appreciate this, which is why they subject you to lots of long articles, often in a small font and with very little visual sign-posting to break up the page.
Reading from a computer is tiring and at least 24% slower than reading printed material.
If you want visitors to read what you publish, it helps to understand the psychology of the surfer and what is going on mentally when they land on your page. In this way, you can differentiate between what you write for online and offline consumption.
The Psychology Battle
As soon as you land on a web page, two contradictory behaviours start to do battle: Scanning and Questing.
Firstly, you scan. You’ve been doing it ever since you visited this site. Your eyes dart about, often in a ‘zed’ fashion, moving from left to right and then diagonally across the page. This is because you are looking for relevance and if you cannot find what you’re looking for, you’ll move on.
Secondly, you are looking to satisfy a quest for a particular type of information or service. Some refer to it as ‘information scavenging’, rather like a pig looking for a precious truffle! In some instances this quest will take you all over the place, continually searching for information whilst at the same time trying to digest it mentally. It’s a very frenetic activity.
Why You Scan
According to Jacob Nielson, the American usability specialist, around 79% of web-users scan rather than read. It is only 16% who actually read word by word. This means that very little of what you write and publish may be read in great detail — at least initially. Therefore, if your website and what you write is only being scanned, you have to use this knowledge to your advantage to make the visitor stop in their tracks and stay with you. Make them think they have found the truffle!
We don’t use the web in a leisurely fashion. By our very nature we are selfish and only looking to satisfy our immediate need. To be productive, we feel compelled to keep on moving and clicking, and always in the back of our mind there is the thought that maybe, just maybe, there is something better on the next site. This behaviour, combined with the fast pace at which we work, means that we don’t have the time or the inclination to work hard at getting the right information. We want to be spoon-fed — instantly.
Think of your own behaviour. When did you last type something into Google and suddenly find yourself visiting all sorts of sites, until finally settling on a site that you felt could help you?
Some Influencing Factors
It is due to this scanning mentality that 50% of visitors will decide within 8 seconds whether to stay with you or not. Therefore, you need to adopt some influencing factors to encourage them to stay — these include:
- Headlines — catchy relevant headlines that appeal
- Summary Text — a sentence or two in bold that that gives an indication and flavour of what you write
- Personalised Copy — copy that uses the ‘you’ word to communicate directly with the reader
- Concision — only publish the essential 20%. If you want to write more, make it available via a.pdf
- Layout — that allows for scanning and is easy on the eye.
These are all skills that journalists and editors employ and ones that you need to develop if your web pages are to communicate effectively. Other factors, which are more specific to the web, include: Visuals, Hyperlinks, Line Length, Typeface and Scrolling.
An Important Word: Usability
This whole topic comes under the heading of usability. This is a growing and important subject, because the more you understand about the behaviour of potential clients and how they respond to your web pages, the more you will be able to optimise the pages so that they engage with what is published. This may well determine whether they take ‘action’ by contacting you.