Put Your Best Items First in Lists and Grids
In a Nielsen Norman Group eye-tracking study of 21 users across 541 pages, people spent about 5% of their viewing time more than 2,000 pixels down the page (Nielsen Norman Group, 2010). On a category page with 50 items, the top 2 rows got about 5 to 10 fixations per item. The bottom 3 rows got close to zero.
What the study observed
The study logged 57,453 fixations. People did scroll, but the attention they gave each part of the page fell off steeply as they went down. Users treat scrolling as a cost. They pay it when the top of the page signals that more useful content is coming, and they stop once they think they have seen enough. On a long grid, the first rows get studied and the last rows get skimmed or never reached.
The figures are from 2010, so treat them as approximate. The shape of the result is what matters for ordering.
What it means for a business website
Most small business sites have at least one list: services, products, case studies, team members, locations, or blog posts. The default order is often whatever the content system produces, such as alphabetical or newest first. That order rarely matches what earns money or answers the most common question.
If your best seller sits near the bottom of the grid, most visitors will never give it a real look. The same goes for a profitable service listed last.
What to do
- Rank every list and grid on the site by business value or visitor demand, and put the leaders in the top 2 rows.
- Replace alphabetical or date sorting with a manual “featured” order on key pages.
- Cut items that do not earn their place. A shorter list gives each remaining item more attention.
- Review sales or inquiry data on a schedule and reorder when the leaders change.
Sources
- Nielsen. Scrolling and Attention, Original Research Study. Nielsen Norman Group, 2010.