What Is Eye tracking Web Usability?

Eye tracking is a process of measuring the point of gaze, or the motion of the eye. Since its inception, this method has been used by scientists to study neurology and by marketers to study the effectiveness of package designs.  Now web designers use eye tracking to study the effectiveness of web pages as this method is effective in understanding and assessing the usability and reach of a web page.

Usability practitioners are now using eye tracking as a tool to understand how people “see” websites and make important and informed decisions. Well planned usability testing and well executed eye tracking studies can provide information about user impressions that the researcher generally cannot observe. An individual collects information about the world around them through various ways, vision, however, is the most important. The most powerful light receptors are in the central region of the eye known as the Fovea. Eye tracking provides an account of where the participants are looking at the screen as they complete a task. If used properly, it can provide important and unique data that can be then evaluated in interesting ways and mined for innovation and ideas.

If used correctly, this method is capable of rendering results that help companies change the way their websites look, and thus expect increases in the number of visitors.