Andrew DeVigal, a visiting professional at Poynter, has been working with researchers at Stanford University to study how people use the web.

He shared some of his early observations of the eye-tracking study, which will be published early next year, and talked about the roles of the people involved in giving the user the best experience possible.

Subjects were chosen from three regions: Northern California, Tampa Bay Area, and Chicago. Researchers sought to replicate the subjects' work environment and had subjects surf with the screen resolution set at 800x600, DeVigal said.

Among the findings:

• People tend to go to one local site for about five minutes, then move on to another for five minutes, then move on to a national site.
• People check news sites throughout the day.
• One-third of people customize their news with such tools as those provided by Yahoo! and CNN Custom News.

Suggestions & Observations

• There are two types of design: one is for the audience and the other is for the designer in the form of vanity sites. This is where you can experiment.
• Tone the color of your content. "Think about the color of your community," DeVigal says. Compare Martha Stewart Living’s color palette, which employs warm colors, to the Levi's palette, which is more vibrant. Levi's sings young.
• There are not many typefaces to choose from on the web at the moment, but make sure yours are speaking appropriately to your audience.
• Apply a grid to your pages to give them a natural balance. DeVigal uses the "Golden Rectangle." This system splits the screen into rectangles to achieve proper proportion, movement, and balance.

Consider the User

• People are often multitasking at work.
• Remember that several providers inform users.
• There is obvious banner blindness, i.e. failure to notice advertising.
• Even though there is banner blindness, don't blur the lines between advertising and editorial content. (DeVigal and Mario Garcia offer contrasting views on the importance of this topic.)
• Honor the 30k to 60k limits on page sizes.
• Try to increase updates. The Chicago Tribune has shifted its focus from larger packages to concentrate on breaking news, according to DeVigal
• Use familiar computer interfaces.

The Designer's Duties

• The designer is the information architect who designs the graphic user interface.
• Make your life easier by automating repetitive tasks. Eliminate some of the unnecessary work and concentrate on what you really want to do.
• Observe and track logs; recognize spikes and respond.
• Develop a style guide and toolbox.
• Be thoughtful in using the latest technological wonders, DeVigal says. "Just as we edit our print sections, we should do that online. Do we need video just because it’s available?"

Navigation

• Use tools available in browsers, such as Internet Explorer’s Channels.
• Remember such essential elements as left navigation. Add footer navigation to make it simpler for people to navigate the site once they get to the bottom of the page.
• Create a "Week in Review" feature. People love to catch up. It can be as simple as a page of headlines from the past week or rebuilding the week’s pages.
• People are not afraid to scroll. Just make sure there are identifiable subheads.