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I noticed that various blogs/news-sites tend to put a large picture relating to their post/article immediately below the headline.

What's the benefit of doing this? I would assume that readers want to see the written content first, and the supporting image second.

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    To draw the attention of the user to the subject that will be discussed. It is easier to draw attention with pictures than with words.
    – Maisa Barros
    May 2, 2017 at 12:17
  • Is it on "category" or actual "post" page?
    – Runnick
    May 2, 2017 at 14:03
  • @Runnick on both.
    – Thredolsen
    May 2, 2017 at 14:40
  • I'd suppose the term for this is "teaser image". At least, that's what such graphics are called that appear in scientific papers right below the headline (and authors list).
    – O. R. Mapper
    May 9, 2017 at 7:35

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Some users are visual thinkers and the picture fills the same place in their mental model as the headline does for other users.

It's a place to hang the rest of the content off and provide initial context.

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People engage more viscerally with visual content (especially human faces). It may seem counter-intuitive that someone looking to read an article would engage most immediately with an image, but that's how I've found that it tends to happen.

Plus, the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" applies here as well. Images portray information more efficiently than text - which is another reason why blog posts tend to lead with them.

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David Ogilvy, in 1965 discovered that the format: headline, pic, text, was optimal for grabbing people s attention in newspaper reading. enter image description here

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    This is interesting, could you provide a source?
    – Thredolsen
    May 3, 2017 at 19:58
  • Ogilvy, David, and Joel Raphaelson. "RESEARCH ON ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES THAT WORK-AND DONT WORK." Harvard Business Review 60.4 (1982): 14.
    – Jose Berengueres
    May 7, 2017 at 7:55
  • I read the paper but couldn't find anywhere where they mention this, could you point me to the specific place in the text?
    – Thredolsen
    May 7, 2017 at 14:01
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    I'm not sure what your graphic is trying to say. All four variants have an image before the actual text, and after the headline. Obviously, they are different, but the ordering of "headline, pic, text" cannot possibly be what was being compared among those graphics.
    – O. R. Mapper
    May 9, 2017 at 7:36
  • try this then, David, O., 1983. Ogilvy on advertising. New York, Crown, 16.
    – Jose Berengueres
    May 9, 2017 at 12:00
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The image is put with the content to catch attention and it catches it better than just text. You can't ignore an image like you can't ignore a movement or a person who's late in the class.

Though putting it below the headline is questionable for me. Since the image beats the heading attention-wise, classically you put the image above the headline and naturally it's viewed first, then the headline.

Order of scanning:

1 Image

|

2 Headline

|

3 Text

But in your example it's kinda not natural because:

2 Headline

|

1 Image

|

3 Text

Also it's not recommended to break headline and description because it makes scanning more difficult.

Putting image below the headline on "category" page is dangerous, because if law of proximity is not taken into account, it may be seen as referring to the next title, rather than to the needed one.

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Nielsen advises using images that are relevant to the user experience. Images used in an article just for the sake of using an image can be unhelpful.

But if the image has a purpose, like helping to explain a concept, emphasise a point, translate to an external page or email, or show personality, then it can only help you.

Here's the full article: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/images-in-blog-posts-tips#sm.000041glf9zrddsetcp1coa3l8n29

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    Doesn't really answer the question since you don't mention why images "should" be displayed after the title, only the importance of using images.
    – Joao Carvalho
    May 9, 2017 at 11:24

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