Is Your Website Making Visitors Work Too Hard? Part 1 of 3
“I know I use a lot of words.”
It’s something I occasionally hear from clients when we’re working on their website content. Usually accompanied by a little laugh.
And I understand.
One of the things I love about working with heart-centred business owners is how much thought and care they put into their words. They want their websites to reflect the richness of their work.
But creating a welcoming website means considering not only what we want to share, but how someone arriving for the first time will experience it.
Your words carry the richness of your work. A little structure helps visitors find it.
And sometimes, that means giving your website a little more room to breathe.
People don’t always read websites the way we imagine
When we write our website content, we often imagine visitors reading every carefully chosen word, moving thoughtfully from one paragraph to the next.
But that’s not usually how people experience websites.
Research from the Nielsen Norman Group, a leading user experience research firm, has consistently shown that people tend to skim and scan web pages rather than read every word.
They’re looking for clues. A heading that catches their attention. A phrase that speaks to something they’re experiencing. An image that helps them understand what you offer.
And when they find something meaningful, they may slow down and read more deeply.
It’s not that people don’t want to read. They want to find what’s worth reading.
Your words matter. But how you organize and present them matters, too.
A little less mental effort, a little more ease
There’s a concept in UX (user experience) design called cognitive load. Simply put, it’s the mental effort required to process information and make sense of what we’re experiencing.
When a website presents us with dense paragraphs, competing visuals, or too much information at once, it can become harder to find what we’re looking for. UX research shows why reducing unnecessary mental effort helps visitors understand and navigate websites more easily.
Think about walking into a room overflowing with furniture and decorations. There may be beautiful things everywhere, but it’s difficult to know where to look.
Now imagine a room where everything has a little space around it. You can appreciate the individual pieces. Your eye has somewhere to rest.
Websites aren’t so different.
Your words and visuals are partners
As a website designer, I think a lot about how words and visuals work together.
A thoughtfully chosen photograph can communicate warmth, personality, or a sense of place before someone has read a single sentence. Colour, typography, imagery, and layout all shape how visitors experience your website.
There’s even a concept in cognitive psychology called the picture-superiority effect, which describes how people often remember images more easily than words alone.
But that doesn’t mean filling every available space with beautiful images!
Just as too many words can feel overwhelming, so can too many competing visuals.
I believe the magic happens when words and images complement one another.
A photograph creates a feeling. A heading offers clarity. A few thoughtful sentences invite someone to explore further. And the space between these elements allows everything to settle.
Spaciousness gives what’s important the room it deserves.
Five ways to give your website room to breathe
The lovely thing about website tending is that you don’t need to redesign everything to make a meaningful difference.
Here are five small ways to create a more spacious and welcoming experience for your visitors.
1. Let your headings do some of the work
Imagine someone scrolling through your homepage without reading the paragraphs. Would your headings help them understand what you offer?
Clear, descriptive headings act like signposts, guiding visitors toward the information that matters to them. They can still be creative and expressive, but clarity comes first.
2. Break up those lovely long paragraphs
If you have a lot to say, that’s okay! Shorter paragraphs, thoughtful subheadings, and the occasional list can make your content much easier to absorb, especially on mobile devices.
3. Choose images with intention
Does an image help tell your story, communicate something about your work, or create a feeling that supports your message?
Sometimes one meaningful photograph does more than several decorative images competing for attention.
4. Give each section a purpose
Does each section introduce you, explain your services, build trust, or invite someone to explore further?
When every section has a clear role, your website feels more intentional. And remember, you don’t have to tell your entire story on your homepage.
5. Make space for the eye to rest
White space (which doesn’t actually have to be white!) is the breathing room around your words, images, and buttons.
You don’t need enormous empty sections or a minimalist website. Just enough space to create a comfortable rhythm as someone moves down the page.
To wrap it up
A website that feels like home welcomes people in, helps them find what matters to them, and gives them space to explore, while still holding everything you have to say.
Website Tending Sessions
If your online home feels a little tangled, technically or otherwise, I'd love to help you sort it out with a Website Tending Session.
This is the first post in the series Is Your Website Making Visitors Work Too Hard? Next time, we’ll look at navigation and why your visitors shouldn’t have to go on a treasure hunt to find what they need.
