Clickstream Data on Web Page Use

A recent Clickstream study revealed new information about how we use and peruse the Web. University of Hamburg researchers found that the Web is moving from a static hypertext information system to dynamic interactive services with rapid interactivity between man and machine. The authors recommend that web developers create concise, fast loading web pages to keep pace with the speed of web navigation.
The Hamburg researchers also found an F-shaped pattern of clicking activity similar to results found in eye tracking studies (see Figure 1). There appears to be a strong link between our eye and hand movements over the surface of web pages. Continued.... from WebSiteOptimization.com http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/clickstream/

Orr's Aphorisms™08/08/2006 (updated weekly)

• Use just the right amount of pictures. If three pictures are good, that doesn't mean fifty are automatically good. Using no picture is usually not good.
• Graphic flow-chart overviews with screen captures in PowerPoint® are a powerful way to give the BIG picture.
• Graphics must always have a cognitive purpose, not merely a decorative one.
• Graphics and fonts are for emphasis—too many ruin the effect.
• Call-out labels increase the value of illustrations immensely.
• The eye is drawn first to the area containing the greatest mass of high contrast of light and dark on a screen or page. This is the principle behind headings and most graphical elements on a page or screen.
• The eyes of people in Western Civilizations go left to right, top to bottom on a screen or page.
  
  
  David Orr is an award-winning instructional designer with 23 years experience designing and developing technical training for Fortune 1000 companies.