It’s always good to have a set of guidelines to follow when designing a website — especially if you have little to no user data to go on.
Over the years, we’ve been introduced to tons of these guidelines and design trends; some of which have fallen out of favor while others have persisted over the years. One of those web design guidelines that’s persisted is the F-pattern.
But is it still relevant today, what with mobile-first design practices?
What Is The F-Pattern?
When we refer to patterns like the F-pattern, Gutenberg layout, or layer-cake pattern in web design, what we’re talking about is how readers scan the content on a page. And thanks to heat mapping technology and research from organizations like Nielsen Norman Group (going back to 2006), we have proof of its existence.