How to boost skimmability — and why it’s essential

Reach flippers, skimmers and other nonreaders with words

Skimmability by channel
	How users read on the web They’re not reading; write for skimmers instead Web visitors read, on average, 20% of the words on the page. So how can you reach these flippers, skimmers and other nonreaders?

	Skimmable text boosts web usability by 47% Increases understanding, memory, satisfaction Scannable text outperformed dense webpages in one of the earliest studies on web writing, by Jakob Nielsen.

	People skim through the text of blog posts They read 3.5% of the words on the page Just say no: Your readers read an average of 50 words in your article. So how do you reach nonreaders with words?

	People skim and scan text in online news Only 19% read word-by-word Skimming along: 81% of participants in a Harris Interactive poll skim news online. So how do you reach these nonreaders?

	Do people skim, scan, read emails? Just 19% of email newsletters get read thoroughly “Scannability is important for websites,” writes Nielsen Norman Group principal Jakob Nielsen, “but it’s about 50% more important for newsletters.”

Get the word out to lookers, skimmers & readers

Reach all of your web visitors, whether they’ve come to your webpage for a bite, meal or snack.

Lift ideas off the page or screen

Reach nonreaders with words: Draw readers in, break copy up and communicate to flippers and skimmers with micro content.

More on skimmability
	Resources on importance of skimming and scanning Websites, books & tools The research is in: People skim and scan webpages. They don’t read them.

	Quotes on skimming, scanning, reading What writers & others say “The dirtiest four-letter word in the English language: ‘read.’” — Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics website

	Quotes on how to write skimmable email What writers & others say “Scannability is important for websites as well, but it’s about 50% more important for newsletters.”— Jakob Nielsen, principal, the Nielsen Norman Group.