Most people do not read web pages word by word. Eye-tracking research by the Nielsen Norman Group has repeatedly found that people scan: they read the first lines, skim down the left side looking for headings and keywords, and stop to read closely only when something matches what they came for. Good copy is written for that behavior.
What skimmers notice
- Headlines and subheadings: often the only words read.
- The first sentence of each section.
- Bold text, bullet points and numbers.
- Buttons and captions under images.
The skim test
Read only the headline, subheadings, bold text and buttons of a page. If that alone tells a clear story, what this is, who it is for, why it matters, what to do next, the page works for skimmers. If it reads as a list of vague labels (“Our approach”, “Features”, “About”), it does not.
Attention is earned in stages
Think of each line’s job as getting the next line read. The headline earns the first sentence; the first sentence earns the second; each subheading earns the section beneath it. Long copy is fine when every part keeps earning attention. Short copy fails when it does not.
Clarity beats cleverness
Puns, wordplay and abstract taglines ask the reader to work out what you mean. Most will not bother. “Accounting software for freelancers that files your quarterly tax estimate” beats “Numbers, simplified” almost every time.
Try this
Apply the skim test to your own sales page or homepage and one competitor’s. Write down the story each tells when you read only the skimmable parts.