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Writing For The Web

The document discusses writing for the web and how it differs from print. It notes that on the web, reading is more difficult, nonlinear, informal, and interactive. Studies have shown that most users scan pages rather than read word for word and appreciate concise, credible writing without "marketese." Guidelines are provided for web writing, including using headings, lists, emphasis, and concise paragraphs to aid scanning. Keywords, links and context should be highlighted to help users understand and navigate content.

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93 views17 pages

Writing For The Web

The document discusses writing for the web and how it differs from print. It notes that on the web, reading is more difficult, nonlinear, informal, and interactive. Studies have shown that most users scan pages rather than read word for word and appreciate concise, credible writing without "marketese." Guidelines are provided for web writing, including using headings, lists, emphasis, and concise paragraphs to aid scanning. Keywords, links and context should be highlighted to help users understand and navigate content.

Uploaded by

anurag_602
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Writing for the Web

407211 Advanced Internet Technology


Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences
What’s different about the Web?

 It’s non-linear and non-sequential


 Reading on the Web can be more difficult
than reading printed material
 It’s built on hypertext, allowing users to jump
immediately to other sites
 It tends to be more informal than print media
 It is real-time
 It is interactive

2
How Users Read on the Web
 Jakob Nielson in a 1997 study found:
 79% of users scan pages, only 16% read pages word for
word
 Credibility is important
 Users hate “marketese”
 Reading on-screen is difficult
 Web readers are impatient
 Readers appreciate an informal writing style
 Web content should be 50% of the size of its paper
equivalent

3
How Users Read the Web…
 The Poynter Institute conducted an eye-tracking
study on people reading Web pages in 2000 which
showed:
 Web users look at text first, before they look at images
 Headlines, summaries and captions are looked at first,
followed by the actual text paragraphs
 Readers preferred straightforward headlines to cute and
funny ones
 Users frequently alternate between different sites.
 The quality of writing is important and affects which sites
users visit
 Users will scroll down to read an article
 Generally, they read 75% of the text on a page

4
General Writing Guidelines
 Identify your audience and their reasons for
visiting your site
 Your writing should be organised, clear and
concise. Use short phrases. Avoid passive
voice.
 Avoid useless marketese. If it bores you, it
probably bores everyone.
 Follow the 3 P’s: Print, Proofread and Pass
around. Always proof your site online and in
print

5
Web-specific Writing Guidelines
 Write to increase scannability
 Highlight important words and phrases in bold
 Coloured text also brings out words, but don’t use
blue as it may be mistaken for a link
 Highlight only key information-carrying words
 Use bullet and numbered list when appropriate to
slow down the scanning eye and draw attention to
important points
 Each paragraph should contain only one basic
idea as a general rule around 40 – 45 words per
paragraph
 In general, write about half as much text as you
would write for a printed document
 Use the inverted-pyramid style of writing by putting
important information
6
at the beginning
Web-specific Writing Guidelines…

 The line length of a column of text greatly


affects the legibility. The user should be able
to visually move from line to line without
physically moving their head. But if the line
length is too short, the reader will get tired
from the excessive line jumps.

 Line Length
 As a general rule, 10 – 12 words is optimum

7
Write to be Found
 Write with search engines in mind. Search
engines look for meta-tags, titles, headings,
and body text, so prioritise them accordingly
(i.e. <h1> carries more weight than <h2>).
 Include meta tags on every page
 Use straightforward headlines
 Give every page a unique title

8
Provide Context

 There are four types of context you should


provide on every Web page:
 How the page fits into the site or section of the site
 Eg. Highlight the section name you are under
 How the site fits into the organisation as a whole
 Eg. Department linking to Faculty or Faculty linking to AUT
home
 Where the organisation exists in space
 Physical address
 Where the pages exist in time
 Last update, frequency of updates

9
Make a Title that can survive out of context

 Must make sense outside its own page


 Don’t start every title with the same word eg.
Company Name
 Compare your title with other items on
whatever menu it appears
 Make sure it stands out
 Use the same title everywhere
 Title should give advance notice of the
contents of the page

10
Meaningful Headings and Subheadings

 A good heading predicts what content will


follow
 Headings and subheadings act as visual
dividers marking chunks along the way
 Two or three levels of headings is sufficient
 Viewers skim headings to get a sense of the
way you have organised your page, building
up a conceptual model of the site structure
 Write headings that mean a lot, rather than
showing off your creativeness

11
Highlight Keywords, Phrases and Links

 Boldface what is important


 Italics is difficult to read and underlining could
be mistaken for a link
 ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are difficult to read
 If using colour for emphasis, use only one
colour, people will probably not understand
your personal method of colour coding

12
Make Links Emphatic
 In an English sentence, we tend to put
important information at the end. So if you
care enough to put a link in a sentence, put it
at the very end

13
Don’t Overdo the Emphasis

 Too much bolding in a paragraph creates a


push-me-pull-me effect, because the eyes
sees the text jumping out.
 If you are highlighting half a dozen items,
reconsider, perhaps these can be turned into
a bulleted list

14
Turn any Series into a Bulleted List

 Let people skim


 Boldface lead-ins or headings in the list
 Turn long lists into several groups
 Put the longest item last

15
Final Thoughts

 “You must question every word and every


sentence, asking:
 Is this clear?
 Is there a simpler way to say this?
 Is there a shorter way to say this?
 Is this necessary”
 Why is correct grammar and spelling
important in web pages?
 The image and credibility of a website are
important in attracting and retaining users”

Writing for the Web: Gerry McGovern


16
Resources
 How Users Read on the Web
 Jakob Nielson’s Alertbox for October 1, 1997
 Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web
 by John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen (1997)
 Be Succint! (Writing for the Web)
 Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for March 15, 1997
 Web Style Guide 2nd Ed: Editorial Style
 Lynch and Horton
 A List Apart: Writing for the Web
 Jeffrey Zeldman and Brian Platz
 Writing for the Web
 Gerry McGovern
 Applying Writing Guidelines to Web Pages
 John Morkes and Jakob Nielson

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