The F-Shaped and Z-Shaped Visual Scanning Patterns

Extensive eye-tracking research conducted by Nielsen Norman Group demonstrates that web users rarely read text word-for-word; they scan screens rapidly along predictable trajectories:

The F-Shaped Scanning Pattern

Dominates text-dense editorial and documentation pages:

1. Users read horizontally across the upper part of the content area (forming the top bar of the F).
2. Their eyes drop down the left margin, scanning a shorter horizontal burst across subheadings (the lower bar of the F).
3. Finally, they scan vertically down the left edge in a quick sweep (forming the F's stem).

The Z-Shaped Scanning Pattern

Dominates landing pages and marketing screens with low text density:

• Eyes travel from top-left (logo) to top-right (CTA), sweep diagonally across the hero imagery to the bottom-left, and finish horizontally across the primary action button on the bottom-right.