Designing for the Way People Actually Read Online

Most people don’t read websites the way we imagine they do. They don’t settle in, take their time, and move from top to bottom in a clean line. They arrive with half their attention, skim for what they need, and leave quickly if the page makes them work too hard. Everything I design has to begin with that reality.

When I’m shaping a page, I think about the reader who’s slightly rushed, or tired, or curious but distracted. Someone who’s already decided within a few seconds whether they’ll stay. That decision isn’t emotional; it’s spatial. It’s the feeling of can I make sense of this quickly?

This is why spacing matters. And hierarchy. And the weight of a sentence. Most of the work happens before you notice it — the distance between elements, the line breaks, the way the eye can move without stumbling. Good design removes friction. Not by being loud, but by being orderly in a way you barely register.

People skim in shapes: down the left, across the centre, diagonally when they’re searching for something specific. If a page isn’t built with that in mind, it asks for more attention than a reader naturally has. That’s usually where they disappear.

I try to design pages that feel like they’re doing some of the thinking for you. Not by oversimplifying, but by giving the right amount of guidance. A strong opening line, a clear path, a sense of what’s essential and what’s supporting. The page should answer the first question quickly: Is this for me? If the answer is yes, they’ll make time for the rest.

Designing for real reading behaviour is mostly about restraint. You remove the decorative noise, you give the important things room to breathe, and you let the page speak at a normal human pace. When a layout respects the way people actually read, it feels calm. Direct. A little inevitable.

That’s usually when the work is finished.

— Elia