How short is short? Less than 100 words seems to be the conventional wisdom on how long web paragraphs should be. So put keywords or information-carrying words first, where they’ll catch the eye. Web users also pay more attention to the first words in a sentence and to the first and last sentences in a paragraph. Short and concise paragraphs are easier to scan-and, importantly, they get twice as many eye fixations as long paragraphs. Giving a quick overview of the content in the first two paragraphs of a webpage “helps the reader get the point and purpose of a page instantly, letting the user make a quick judgement whether to read on for a bit more detail.” 3 | Chunk Content in Short Paragraphs We’re supposed to start with a nice intro, lay the foundation, give some background and context, and kind of ease into our topic.īut writing for the web is very different from writing for print. Putting the most important information first means that web users will actually see it. Of course, doing so violates the rules of writing we learned in high school. Why? Because web visitors give 80% of their attention to what’s “above the fold” on the webpage. “Above the fold” means the content they initially see when they land on the page (without scrolling). We have to state the essential message of the page first, right off the bat. 2 | State the Most Important Information in the First Two Paragraphs The items in the table of contents should match the major headings or sections of the page and be linked to those sections, so that users can rappel like rock climbers down the text. This gives readers a quick snapshot of the content they’re going to find on that page. You can start webpages (especially longer ones) with a table of contents. Use bullets, numbered lists, and numerals.Front load headings with significant words.State the most important information in the first two paragraphs.To help our web visitors find what they’re looking for, we can create webpages that are easy to scan. If they find it, they dig in and read more carefully. They’re looking for something that strikes their attention or matches the question or need they have. They skim and scan the pages, taking in headings, the beginnings of paragraphs, and first words of sentences.

Most people don’t read through the content we put on our websites.

Skim over eyes