Users Still Look Left: What Eye Tracking Reveals About Web Design

How People Really View the Web

Over a decade ago, early studies on online behavior showed that people pay much more attention to the left half of a screen than the right. This made sense—websites were narrower, and left-hand menus were everywhere. But the web has changed dramatically since then. Screens are bigger, designs are more flexible, and responsive layouts are the norm.

Yet the pattern remains. Eye-tracking research confirms that people continue to focus most of their attention on the left side of the screen. Even with widescreen monitors and more centered content, the habit hasn’t shifted as much as you might expect.

Why the Left Side Wins Attention

The bias isn’t accidental. For most sites, the left half of the page holds the bulk of meaningful content — headlines, menus, and text. Meanwhile, the right side is often filled with secondary items: sidebars, ads, or white space.

Interestingly, the very far left, the first 10% of screen width, gets relatively little attention today. Navigation menus and gutters don’t draw the eye the way they once did. Users have grown skilled at recognizing navigation elements quickly, and responsive designs often push core content inward, away from the screen edge. This makes the central-left “sweet spot” even more important for businesses who want users to stay engaged.

The right-hand edge, on the other hand, has become what some researchers call a “dead zone.” Unlike vertical scrolling, which most users perform naturally, horizontal scrolling is almost nonexistent. Anything placed beyond the visible fold to the right might as well not exist.

Search Engines Push the Pattern Further

When we look at search engine results pages, the left bias becomes even stronger. Nearly 94% of all eye fixations on SERPs land on the left. Most of those fixations cluster within the first 400 pixels, exactly where the results list begins.

Features like Google’s Knowledge Panel on the right can draw some attention, but the bulk of user focus stays anchored to the results themselves. Even when accounting for different screen widths, the overall pattern remains: users expect key information to live on the left. That’s where they look first, and that’s where they stay until their goal is met.

For marketers and businesses, this means appearing in those left-hand listings is critical. Being buried or relying on right-hand elements for visibility is a losing strategy.

Conventional Layouts Still Win

One conclusion stands out: traditional layouts continue to outperform experimental ones. Navigation across the top or left side of a site remains the most effective. Content centered within the main left-to-middle area is seen quickly. Secondary information can live on the right, but it won’t drive conversions.

This doesn’t mean designers can never innovate. But breaking away from convention is risky. If users can’t immediately find what they’re used to, a menu on top, a logo on the left, primary content down the middle, they’re more likely to leave than adapt.

As the saying goes, users spend most of their time on other websites. That means they carry expectations with them. Ignore those expectations, and you force them to work harder. When users struggle, they often decide your competitor’s site is easier.

What This Means for Businesses

For companies in competitive markets like Toronto and Vaughan, where every click matters, the message is straightforward. Put your most important information where people actually look: the left half of the screen. Keep navigation intuitive. Use the right side for supporting details, but don’t rely on it to carry your message.

Eye tracking shows us that while technology evolves, human habits are slower to change. Wider monitors and responsive layouts haven’t erased the left-side bias. Businesses that respect these patterns save their users time and win more conversions.

In the end, usability isn’t just good design,  it’s good business. When your website makes it easy for people to find what they want, they’re far more likely to take the next step: click, sign up, or buy.

About MRKT360

If you want a website that doesn’t just look good but also works the way people actually browse, MRKT360 can help. Our team combines web design, SEO, and AI-driven strategy to make sure your business shows up where it matters most, front and center. Based in Toronto and Vaughan, we help brands across Canada and beyond build digital experiences that turn attention into action. 

Let’s build a site that works with human behavior, not against it.