What's more important to your web site: pictures or text? If you have an ecommerce web site, you need the answer to that question. Your profits depend on it.

圖片與文本，哪項內容更重要呢？如果擁有商業網站，你需要回答這個問題，因為這關系到網站收益。

Over the years, we've heard a lot of opinions on this topic. Some webmasters formed opinions through studying log files and conducting online surveys. Others relied on personal preference.

多年來，對于這個問題的爭論很多，有些網站管理員通過研究系統記錄文件，進行網上調查，總結出自己的觀點；而其他人則根據自己的偏好，權衡兩者的分量。

However, thanks to Stanford University and the Poynter Institute, we now have some concrete research to use in our quest to design the most effective sites. The Stanford Poynter Project sheds light on how site visitors spend their time.

然而，在斯坦福大學，poynter研究所的幫助下，我們對如何設計最有效的網站進行了具體的研究。我們研究的主要問題是網站訪問者如何瀏覽網站。

Some will find the results surprizing. Others will have their opinions confirmed. The four-year study demonstrated that our online reading patterns are the precise opposite of our reading patterns when we read newspapers or magazines.

有些人可能會改變固定觀念，有些可能會堅持自己的觀點。四年的研究證明，網站用戶的瀏覽習慣與報紙、雜志讀者的閱讀習慣相反。

When we read print newspapers, we read at the breakfast table, in the coffee shop or on the subway. We browse -- a headline here, a picture there. We look at the pictures first, then read the text if it interests us. People who layout print publications know this, and they design accordingly.

當我們在咖啡店或者地鐵中閱讀報紙時，我們首先閱讀內容提要，瀏覽標題，圖片。我們會首先瀏覽圖片，然后閱讀我們感興趣的內容。報紙編輯會根據我們的閱讀習慣，進行內容編輯。

Many concluded that the same patterns would apply on the web. But it's not so. We do the exact opposite.

很多人認為網站設計也可以這樣，但事實卻相反。

Surfing isn't a casual activity that we do comfortably while waiting for the bus. It's something we do sitting in a chair staring at a monitor that isn't friendly to the eyes. Moreover, we're likely to be distracted by telephone calls, incoming email and co-workers in the next cubicle.

網上瀏覽并不是我們等公車時，舒適、隨意的瀏覽行為，而需要我們坐在椅子上，盯著顯示器。在瀏覽的同時，我們可能會受到電話、電子郵件或者隔壁同事的打擾。

Online, we need to get the information as quickly as possible. We head straight for the text. The study found that surfers look first at article text (92% of the time) and briefs (82% of the time), and thirdly at photos. We read 70% of the article, as compared to the 30% we're likely to read from a magazine or newspaper. Then, when we're finished with the text, about 22% of us glance at the web site's pictures.

在網上，我們需要盡快獲取信息，會首先閱讀文字內容 。研究發現，網站訪問者首先閱讀文字內容（92%的時間），其次閱讀摘要（82%的時間），最后瀏覽圖片。我們會瀏覽70%的網站文字內容，然而我們只會瀏覽30%的報紙、雜志文字內容。文字內容瀏覽完畢后，22%的用戶會瀏覽網站圖片。

Banner ads and photographs attract more attention than artwork.

橫幅與照片更能吸引用戶注意力。

Oddly, the study also showed that although only 22% of site visitors glance at pictures, 45% check out banner ads for approximately one and one quarter second.

奇怪的是，盡管22%的網站訪問者會瀏覽圖片，但45%的用戶只利用1秒或者1秒半的時間。

Other miscellaneous findings from the study:

研究得出的其它結論：

1. Sports readers read more content than any other type of reader. Males and females read sports in equal numbers, but 11% of males read heavily compared to 0% of the females.

1.體育新聞讀者比其它讀者閱讀的內容要多。男性與女性體育新聞讀者數量大體相同，但11%的男性讀者會深入閱讀。

2. Thirty-year olds read more local content than twenty year olds or sixty year olds.

2.與二十幾歲、六十幾歲的讀者相比， 三十幾歲的讀者會閱讀更多本地新聞。

3. Females read more local content than males.

3.相對于男性讀者，女性讀者會越多更多本地新聞。

4. Twenty-year olds read more science and sports than other age groups.

4. 相比于其他年齡段的瀏覽者，二十幾歲的瀏覽者會閱讀更多的科學、體育信息。

5. When reading online, we read serially. That is, we jump back and forth among sites, returning to the ones that interest us.

5.我們可以連續閱讀網上的內容，也就是說我們可以不斷轉換網站，直到找到自己感興趣的網站。

So what conclusions can we make from the Stanford Poyntner Project?

那么我們從這項研究中可以得到什么結論呢？

First, we must consider that these researchers studied the online behavior of a small group of Americans who routinely access news web sites. More research is needed to determine whether the results will generalize to international readers, or to users of ecommerce web sites.

首先，我們必須想到這項研究僅僅是針對小部分經常瀏覽網頁的美國人。至于其它國家的訪問者、電子商務網站訪問者會不會這樣，還有待研究。

Critics of the research argue that the results are less significant when applied to people who are accessing the web with high bandwidth connections. However, although high bandwidth is making gains in North America, many people, both in North America and in other parts of the globe, are using dialup connections or are accessing the web with wireless devises.

這項研究的批評者認為，研究結果對于利用高速寬帶上網的用戶來說，意義很小。然而，盡管現在很多寬帶用戶，但全世界仍然有很多利用電話撥號或者利用無線裝置上網的用戶。

That being said, the following conclusions seem logical:

也就是說，下面的結論看上去合乎邏輯：

- Text is important. It's words that hold the attention. Give visitors the information they need, and present it well.

文本很重要，是吸引用戶的內容。合理設計文本信息，便于訪問者瀏覽。

- Use eye-catching headlines and sub-headlines. Remember, over 90% of your visitors glance here first.

運用醒目的標題與副標題。請記?。?0%多的訪問者只是匆匆瀏覽網站內容。

- Although few click on the banner ads, the one-second glance will generate an impression that can help with branding.

盡管網站用戶很少點擊橫幅廣告，但一秒鐘的注視，絕對可以產生一種印象。

- One second doesn't allow time for visitors to view rotating animations in banner ads. It's better to put the full message, including your logo, in each frame of the animation.

一秒鐘的時間不允許訪問者瀏覽橫幅廣告中的動畫內容，所以你最好把全部信息（包括logo）放入動畫框架中。

- Pictures are still important, but use sparingly. Pictures and animations that distract the viewer from reading the text are counter-productive.

圖片雖然也很重要，但需要節約使用。分散瀏覽者注意力的圖片以及動畫圖像會產生相反的作用。