WWW: Writing for the Wired World

Words Matter: Writing for the Web

Darlene Fichter

Data Library Coordinator, U of S Library

January 30, 2004

Overview

Writing & Reading for the WebDo’s & Don’ts

– Format– Scanning– Style– Language– Jargon

Reading & writing

Goal is to communicate– Strategy– Key messages– Your audience

Rule #1 Write for the way your user's read

How do people read on the screen?– Top to bottom– Left to right– Focus first on the micro-content – Scroll to the bottom– Only after failing

- side menu- top menu

12

3

People read

25% slower on the screen Find Arial or Times Roman fonts at 12 pt the

most legible

Reading slower: implications for style

Be succinctPyramid style (newspaper)Scanning – lists, lists and more listsLooks a lot like PowerPoint

5 tips

1. Strike out useless words. 2. Avoid noun sandwiches. 3. Use “you”. 4. Cut out redundancies. 5. Use simple, short words.6. Avoid all uppercase words.

•commercial document delivery services

Instead of Use concerning about forward send in order to to facilitate help strategy plan access (as a verb) get, assist assistance help, aid construct build in the event of if

Research shows: DON’T read

People who are looking for information don’t read, they scan.

If they have to read instructions or help page most people won’t.

“Scanability”

HeadingsListsCreate “zones” or areas with blocks of colorUse links

Effective headings

Set styles and stick to themBe consistent

– use font and/or color to offset headings

Lists, lists and more lists

Lists are quick to scanDo not use complete sentences in lists

Anatomy

Biology

Biotechnology

Chemistry

Microbiology

Physics

Zoology

Which is easiest to read? Anatomy

Biology

Biotechnology

Chemistry

Microbiology

Physics

Zoology

Anatomy Biology Biotechnology Chemistry Microbiology Physics Zoology

1. White space 2. Bullets 3. Neither

Which is faster? Why?

Books

Art

Journals

History

Geography

Mathematics

Subjects Format

Art Books

Geography Journals

History Maps

Mathematics

1 2

Organizing content for viewing

In columns, not rowsCategorical not alphabetical

Links that work

Make the links in your text meaningfulMake visited and unvisited links contrast with

the base font color.

Example of scanning

How to Find Information

1. Search the catalogue

2. Browse by subject

3. For e-books, click here

4. Visit our list of web resources

5. Recommended web sites on Sociology

Hypertext: classic mistakes

No followed link colorLinks are not underlinedOverused – everything is a linkSelf referential - To start the tour, click here.

Use links wisely

Hypertext is powerful but can also be distracting

Links can help reduce clutter by moving information to separate Web pages

But when concentrating on content, people often ignore embedded links

Create links that don’t need to be followed

Use long descriptive links, captions, or headings so users can eliminate choices

UIE’s research shows that links with 4 to 9 words are more effective

Review what we know:

1. Writing

2. Scanning

3. Links

Tour

Some sites– Jot down notes / opinions about the ability to

scan and find words quickly– If you focus on the writing and content which are

the strengths and weaknesses?

Language

Use the language of your usersAmbiguity is a problemProvide context

Classic mistakes on library sites

Library sites are full of jargon–WinSPIRS

–EbscoHost

–Access

–Database

–Gateway

–Services

–Electronic Reserves

“Serial failure”

Finding articlesMany studies

– Don’t know “database”– Names of database– Software product – Ovid, Webspirs

Labels are challengingTesting helpsUse a “cookie test”Create a list of possible

labels:– My Account– Borrower Information– Library Card– Your Library Card

Go where your users are

Your lunch room or hallways at lunch breakAim for cross-sectionAsk which they prefer

Reverse Study: Take a few concepts and ask them what they would call the item or group of items?

Other important writing tasks

Errors– Should stand out from other text – Should be comprehensible

404 not found ?

Things to avoid

“Marketese”– Anything that sounds like “advertising” is a

complete turn off … the best, the biggest …

The “Buzz”: reusability

Write once, use many timesDevice independent accessBreak content in small nuggetsAssemble to suit

– Web Pages

– WAP

– Headline Services

– Alerts

Myths & ironies

Everyone owns a “printing press”Explosion of publishingDirth of “good writing”Need good writers’ that can create concise

and interesting headlines

Secret to good wired writing

Observe and learnWrite oftenRevise, revise and reviseRead the usability studies and research

reports

Good news for librarians

Some of it comes naturally– Group and categorize– Assign labels– Think about words & meaning– Service oriented

Sites for web writing

Writing for the Web – Jakob Nielsen http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/

Good Documents: How to write for the INTRAnethttp://www.gooddocuments.com/

Yale’s Web Style Guide: Editorial http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/pages/editorial_style.html

Software Usability Research Laboratory Newsletterhttp://www.usabilitynews.org

National Cancer Institute Usability.gov http://www.usability.gov/

Books, columns & sites

Writing and Usability– http://library.usask.ca/~fichter/writing/

Thank you!

Questions?

Darlene Fichter University of Saskatchewan Libraries

library.usask.ca/~fichter/