The goal of landing page design is to communicate your offer to visitors in a clear and direct manner. Making sure that people notice what you want them to notice is part of the communication process. Using white space to declutter the page and adding a contrasting CTA button are two examples.
In the end, however, landing page design is about more than just how elements appear; it is also about the message they convey to visitors.
Visual appeal is only one aspect of landing page design; how page elements interact and flow together determines whether or not your page will successfully engage visitors.
This is where visual hierarchy enters the picture.
What exactly is visual hierarchy?
The visual hierarchy of the page elements determines which elements engage the visitor first and which elements they interact with (and in what order) while on the page. You can ensure that communication between the visitor and the landing page is seamless by establishing a visual hierarchy.
The following techniques can be used to create a visual hierarchy:
Scale: Different sized elements will direct the user’s attention — larger elements will attract more attention than smaller elements.
People are drawn to bright, contrasting colors.
Color contrast: Color shifts can be used to draw attention. The contrast of one element’s color against another draws attention.
Alignment: Columns and grids can help to align elements and draw the visitor’s attention.
This is where visual hierarchy enters the picture.
What is visual hierarchy?
The visual hierarchy of the page elements determines which elements engage the visitor first and which elements they interact with (and in what order) while on the page. You can ensure that communication between the visitor and the landing page is seamless by establishing a visual hierarchy.
The following techniques can be used to create a visual hierarchy:
Scale: Different sized elements will direct the user’s attention — larger elements will attract more attention than smaller elements.
People are drawn to bright, contrasting colors.
Color contrast: Color shifts can be used to draw attention. The contrast of one element’s color against another draws attention.
Alignment: Columns and grids can help to align elements and draw the visitor’s attention.
Proximity: This helps to separate and group certain landing page elements together (or apart) in order to distinguish them.
Page scanning patterns: Eye-tracking studies show where visitors’ gazes are focused when they arrive on a web page and where they move through the page.
All of the design elements mentioned above are important, but this post will focus on the page scanning patterns that eye-tracking studies have shown to be relevant to reading web content – specifically, the F and Z patterns.
The F Shape
The Nielsen Norman Group conducted what is widely regarded as one of the most useful and cited eye-tracking studies today in 2006. During the study, they observed how 232 different web pages were viewed by 232 different users. The findings revealed that users’ primary reading behavior remained relatively consistent across sites and tasks.
Users specifically read in an F-pattern.
The F-pattern requires visitors to read the page horizontally, mostly along the top of the content area, before moving down the page and reading across a second horizontal line. Finally, visitors scan the content’s left side in a vertical movement.
This is what the movement typically looks like:
The three heat maps shown above are the results of user eye-tracking studies conducted on three different websites. It’s also worth noting that the F-pattern doesn’t have to be a two-stem horizontal pattern (see heat map on the right above).
The color code is as follows:
Red denotes the most viewed and fixated area.
Yellow denotes some views but less fixation.
Blue represents the least viewed and has the fewest fixations.
Grey denotes a low number of views and no fixations.
The important thing to remember here is that the user’s eye movement begins in the upper left corner and moves across the page before scanning down the page to look for an engaging element. Placement of elements on a text-heavy page that you want visitors to notice (such as an image) in the F pattern ensures that the elements are seen.
On their landing page, Hootsuite employs an F-pattern to highlight the most important elements (above the fold):
First, the visitor’s attention is drawn to the headline and subhead.
They will then go over the bullet-point benefits (iconography).
Following that, visitors will see both CTA buttons.
The F-pattern is also used by BigCommerce on their landing page (above the fold):
Because the headline is the largest font on the page, it is likely to be seen first.
The subhead is then moved across to the image.
The copy in the bullet points comes next.
Finally, the user scans from left to right, inspecting both CTA buttons.
Arranging your landing page elements in this visual order ensures that visitors navigate through your page and click the CTA button.
The F-pattern is most effective on pages with a lot of content, but it can also be used on pages with little content.
The Z Design
The Z-pattern layout is commonly used on pages with little content. Its design mimics the path the human eye takes when reading — from left to right, zigzagging from top to bottom:
Visitors begin by scanning from top-left to top-right, forming an imaginary horizontal line.
Following that, they scan down and to the left, forming an imaginary diagonal line.
Finally, they return their gaze to the right, forming a second horizontal line.
The following is the viewing pattern that results from these eye movements:
The Z-pattern layout, like the F-pattern layout, does not have to be an exact Z-pattern. The horizontal lines do not have to be perfectly horizontal; they can also be angled. Furthermore, there may be multiple Zs on the page. Just make certain of the following:
The main components you want visitors to focus on first are included in the top horizontal line.
The diagonal line should include any information leading to your CTA button.
The CTA should be highlighted at any point along the bottom horizontal line.
A good example of the Z-pattern can be found on the Lyft landing page:
On the top horizontal line, the visitor first notices the logo and the “Sign up to ride” CTA button.
They then scan the form’s headline as they move down the diagonal line.
Finally, they examine the bottom horizontal line, which contains the Lyft vs. Uber headline and subhead, which leads to the CTA button.
In our final example, LinkedIn employs the Z-pattern:
The first horizontal line contains the headline “Start hiring” as well as the woman’s face.
Visitors can then see the copy above the two blue CTA buttons by scanning downward-left.
The eyes move to the 40% statistic in the second diagonal and then across the page from left to right to see the other two statistics.
Finally, you can use the Z-pattern to direct visitors’ attention to elements that encourage them to move closer to the conversion goal.
Creating engaging landing page experiences with the F and Z patterns
The most important landing page elements should be placed along visitors’ natural eye paths, whether in a F or Z pattern, to ensure an engaging landing page experience.
On your landing pages, use the power of visual hierarchy to ensure that visitors absorb your message and take the actions you want them to take.
