Results

Psychologists and human behavior specialists are the envy of the web design world: they have the knowledge and tools to determine what people look at, do, and like about almost anything. As early as the 1870s, behavioral psychologists were tracking eye movements when reading, discovering on which words the eye stops and why. They discovered that eye movements directly correspond to thought process, meaning that we look at things which interest or engage us. It is the mystery of what stops our eyes that web designers are trying to solve, and how this relates to where we click. Many businesses are turning to tracking hardware and software packages to help reveal the motivation behind their website’s visitors.

One such company, Seeing Machines offers faceLAB 4, an integrated hardware system complete with analytical tool Gazetracker, which helps interpret the data you collect. Gazetracker comes with a webpage analysis mode for clients focused especially on usability. faceLAB 4 operates on many different levels, tracking not only eye movements, but also mouse and keystrokes, scrolling, and even pupil dilation.

Recent web-focused reading studies have shown that eye movement differs when reading web pages compared to printed materials. We read more quickly, scanning the page instead of reading word for word, and our eyes gravitate towards color, lists, and we take in content in an F-shaped pattern (see http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html for more details). Because so few web surfers actually read websites, other eye-tracking software packages focus on clicks and navigation rather than physical eye movements.

Clickdensity provides users with heat maps of their web activity, literally showing hot spots that were of greatest interest to visitors. Crazy Egg also uses heat maps to record clicks, but offers a more comprehensive product called Confetti, which can provide data on the types of users who visit certain areas of your site. Clicktale actually records visitor’s actions like movie and allows you to replay their every move. Most of these packages are priced by subscription, costing less than $100 per month.

While everyday eye tracking is not necessary in every situation, it is invaluable to gain an understanding of how your user is viewing and consuming your website. You will be amazed at how the color of a box or the density of a paragraph can change the way your user interacts with your site. Is one particular graphic or Flash animation clicked on more than another because it’s colorful, informative, in the top corner of the page? These seemingly insignificant details can throw off the balance of your page, causing users to overlook important features. Some form of eye/click tracking can highlight and help you solve these problems.

This process also helps reach that magical combination of social science research and web usability. Social scientists ask the “why” questions of human behavior, not just the “what” questions. In using eye tracking technology, web designers are prompted to do the same; heat maps and movies answer the “what” questions for us, and we are one step closer to determining why one particular part of the site is stickier than another. These are the questions that eye tracking software pushes us to answer, and if we take that extra step, our web designs to become truly user-centered.

Friday, October 19th, 2007 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

By Haley January Eckels