Webpage heatmap is one of the most effective ways to understand what is important to your website visitors. What are they actually looking at and what are they missing out on. Heatmap technology tracks click points, scrolling, and capturing form completions. The resulting data will help you place content in the right places and increase conversions.
In this article, you’ll learn 10 important facts about heatmaps based on over 750 tests.
80% of the viewing time is spent on the first screen
According to research, 80.3% of web browsing time is on the first screen. Therefore, everything that motivates the user to the target action is placed above the “fold line” by high-converting sites.
The headline and the area next to it, where the offer is usually located, capture the most attention. The farther from the title, the shorter the view.
Visitors scan the space between the first screen and the footer for 3-4 seconds, where they stop again. And if a person has reached the bottom of the page, a strong call to action is the last chance to convert it into leads.
The left side of the page captures most of the attention
The peculiarity of the human brain is to perceive visual information from left to right. Therefore, site visitors immediately after loading start browsing from the left side of the screen. Experts recommend placing a list of benefits (bullets) on it. Overall, left-handed content accounts for 69% of users’ time.
The first words of the string have the highest “temperature” on the heatmap. Especially at the beginning of the post. Headings and subheadings also dominate. But solid pieces of text without division into paragraphs have very low chances of being read.
Recommendations:
- Tell users the essence of the information in the first two paragraphs, as they are the most converting. The rest of the material can be devoted to supplementing and deciphering;
- Present important thoughts (especially the list of benefits) as a bulleted list. The symbolic designation catches attention more strongly;
- The optimal paragraph length is 3-4 lines + the alternation of long and short blocks works well. Also, refrain from justifying the width. The so-called “ragged rhythm” of the text contributes to its better assimilation.
Banner blindness reduces conversions
The effect of “banner blindness” is that visitors ignore content that resembles banner ads. In the digital age, the human brain has adapted to ignore aggressive commercial information. Therefore, the design of the content should be as far away from the advertising style as possible.
Direction is very important
Surely you know about the technique of “visual eyeliner”. The look of the hero of the image indicates the lead form, either the offer or the product. Of course, eyeliner alone does not guarantee an increase in conversions.
With the help of a referral, you attract attention, but ultimately a competent offer and call to action convert.
Automatic sliders are almost invisible
Using sliders as visualizations is not a good idea. Users tend to ignore them for the same reasons as content with banner blindness.
Color contrasts in design can kill conversions
User session recording showed that the non-clickable area of the price page gets almost all the user’s attention due to the strong contrast with the rest of the background.
The redesign and softening of contrasts have given important target areas the necessary share of attention.
Stock photos don’t work
A lot has been said about the dangers of stock images. Moreover, users skip photos similar (!) to theirs.