Google reveals the parts of websites people don't see
submitted by markodonoghue on 18 December 2009
Google have developed a new tool for web developers that allows them to see how much of websites that are visible to the user.
Designing websites to suit common screen resolutions has always been a tricky one, but the process has been made even more challenging when netbooks arrived on the scene.
This online tool Google has created is called 'Browser Size' that shows what percentage of visitors to a site will see certain sections of the page.
Web designers just need to enter their URL and 'Browser Size' overlays the page with a heatmap, showing which parts are likely to be hidden. The service will allow sites to see whether crucial sections such as Buy Here or Donate Now buttons are visible without scrolling straight away.
Google registers the screen resolution of every visitor to its site, giving a huge constantly updated list of data which it takes it's estimates from.
Google was inspired to build Browser Size after the company noticed that a large number of visitors to the Download Google Earth page never actually downloaded the software. "Using this visualisation, Google confirmed that about 10% of users couldn't see the download button without scrolling, and thus never noticed it," claims Arthur Blume from the Browser Size team on the Google Code blog.
"10% may not sound like a lot, but in this context it turns out to mean a significant number of people weren't downloading Google Earth. Using this data, the team was able to redesign the page to good effect."
I think this tool is going to be very useful to developers as such buttons, for example, Download and Buy Here may not be shown to some people and visa versa.
Submitted by:
Mark O'Donoghue
Associated Links:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/354214/google-reveals-the-parts-of-websites-people-dont-see
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