There are many ways in which viewers of your website go about the task of consuming information. The following are what I’ve found to be the 5 types of website readers (viewers/users) that are the most common, with my views on how they consume and how you can hopefully get them to engage with your content.

The 5 Types of Website Readers

1. The Skimmers. Skimmers scan your website’s headlines, callouts, and bullet points to quickly assess whether or not to read more. They aren’t bothered by details and want to immediately determine if your site, services, or products can help them solve a problem. For them, be sure that your headers are clear and concise.

2. The Readers. Readers want to read everything on your site and will dive into all of the details. They want to learn as much about your product or service as they can. In this case, more is more, so be sure to have pages that fully explain what your service or products are all about.

3. The Lookers. Lookers love visuals instead of text and initially want to see photos, charts, and graphs that explain your product or service. If your photos and graphics are engaging, then this type of reader will move on to reading to learn more. Make sure that your photos and graphics are relevant to the text they are displayed with. Nothing screams “Run!’ like crappy stock photos that have nothing to do with the content on the page.

4. The Watchers. Watchers are visual (and audio) learners who want to watch video explanations for your services and products, but may also want to hear testimonials or podcasts. Of course, for everything posted in audio and video format, you’ll want to provide transcripts for the Skimmers and Readers.

5. The “Ready, Set, Go”. The “Ready, Set, Go” users just need clear and easy options to contact you or purchase your service or product. Be sure to provide them with super easy options to do so through attractive call-to-action (CTA) blocks and contact and purchase options. Do this with easy-to-see (and properly placed) buttons and links!

Conclusion

So there you have it. Those are just my views on the 5 types of website readers, not hard science, based on my experience. I do believe that the more ways you have for viewers to get the information they need to contact you or purchase your service or product, the better off you’ll be.

If you need help with any of the above, just contact me.