Follow the F

We read in an F-pattern. It looks like this:

So write for an F-pattern.

What does this mean?

Left-align everything

The eye hugs the left-hand margin. So...

Centered headings are a bad idea

One level of bullet is okay.

• But two

  • or three levels are out – look how far away from the left we are now!
    

Only indent for a very good reason, like a quote.

Give the eye lots of starting places

That Enter button needs more love. Press it. Repeatedly.

Is your paragraph 4 lines long? Imagine the wall of words it will create on a cell phone, and hit Enter.

Has your bulleted brainstorm made it to 5 items? Time for a new list! 

Keep hitting Enter. A space gives people a reason to start reading again.

Save emphasis for headings

This one might be a bit controversial. But here goes: 

I'm not a fan of highlights, bold, colour, italics, or underlining smattered through text. It makes the eye flit around like an overstimulated mosquito. If you absolutely have to, emphasise sparingly. 

In a nutshell, emphasis is more powerful when you save it for headings. 

Are you feeling the urge to highlight the name or due date you put at the end of a paragraph? Move it to the start and ditch the highlight. 

Have you banged a link halfway down a sentence? Rework it so the link is

on its own line, 

Or move it into the first few words of the paragraph.

An F-reader pays attention to the start without you needing to do anything.