Make it easy to scan or speed read your pages and do it today!
How long do you think someone spends on your website before they make up their mind? 30 seconds, 15 seconds….. more like about three or four! If they don’t see what they like, they’re already thinking about where they can get a better offer.
Yes, this is about headings. Sterile headings like ‘welcome’, ‘homepage’, ‘about’ will do you no favours. If you’ve got something to say, just say it!
You can be descriptive, funny, or evocative but when you get your message across on a heading, at least people will know what you are about… immediately. Or you can reel them in with a question or a snippet of what you’ll say later. In an ideal world, they’ll read every word on your site but that does not happen as much as we want it to.
People like to work hard, but not too hard
Making your reader work harder than they are used to online – is a risk. And remember, with just three or four seconds to make your mark, make sure and hit them between the eyeballs. Your headings should ideally reflect your message and be instructive as to what follows on your paragraph or two below.
Example: You run a successful wellington boot company with 50 years’ experience and you believe you know more about wellies than anyone else in the fictitious country, ‘Rainland’.
Then….a prospective customer lands on your ‘About’ page to be greeted with ‘About us’….
What about you? Tell them. Perhaps replace ‘about us’ with ‘Keeping feet dry in Rainland for 50 years’ or something as simple.
We’re all in a hurry and if we’re not, many of us seem to wish/think we are. Make your web pages scannable so that if someone is in a hurry, thinks they’re in a hurry or has a poor concentration span – you’ll get through to them anyway.
So, if you do one thing about your web content – make your pages easy to scan.
Active headings describing what you do best will make life easier for your reader.
Tell me what you think about headings…