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WWW: Writing for the Wired World International Association of Business Communicators November 28, 2001 Darlene Fichter www.lights.com Overview Web Writing - Do’s & Don’ts – Format – Scanning – Style – Language – Jargon Hearsay or Research? Usability Studies Observed and tested thousands of people using the web www.usability.gov www.useit.com Stephen Krug, Don’t Make Me Think Reading & Writing Goal is to communicate – Strategy – Key messages – Your audience There is nothing more important than the strategy phase. If you don’t spend time on it, it’s like being on a dark road without your headlights on. Drue Miller, Webmistress Vivid Studios How Users Read on Screens 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 Reading 25% slower on the screen Arial or Times Roman fonts at 12 pt are the most legible Users Don’t Read People who are looking for information on the web, they don't READ, they SCAN. Most people WILL NOT read instructions or HELP. What if they need to read? Tips: • Provide a good headline and summary. • Make it easy to print the 20 page report or pieces of a 100 page report. • Make sure that longer documents are indexed! Long HTML Documents Chunk it Present a “model” that the users grasp Offer internal navigation – page to page – back to section – back to table of contents “Scanability” Create headings and subheadings Be consistent – use font and/or color to offset headings Which is easiest to read? Anatomy Anatomy Biology Biology Biotechnology Biotechnology Chemistry Chemistry Microbiology Microbiology Physics Physics Zoology Zoology Anatomy Biology Biotechnology Chemistry Microbiology Physics Zoology Research says: List with bullets Tabular Content Books 20th Century Journals Electronic Books Art Format 20th Century Books Modernism Journals Impressionism Electronic Modernism Impressionism Research says: Use Categories Scanning for Links How to Find Information • Search the catalogue • Browse by subject • For e-books, click here • Visit our list of web links Scan for Links Make the links in your text meaningful. Make visited and unvisited links contrast with the base font color and with each other. Designing for scent – Jared Spool 4-9 words Style Concise Pyramid style (newspaper) Scanning – lists, lists and more lists Looks a lot like PowerPoint Language Use the language of your users Ambiguity is a problem Provide context Classic Mistakes Web sites are full of jargon Organized by internal departments and use internal names Other Important Writing Tasks 404 Document Not Found Errors – Should stand out from other text – Should be comprehensible Things to Avoid “Marketese” – Anything that sounds like “advertising” is a complete turn off … the best, the biggest … What works? Have you ever been at a web development meeting where people debated the size of an image or the color of link or a label for hours? “Cookie” Test Preference or “cookie” testing – My Account – Your Account Status – Chequing Account – Login Paper Mockups Test pages and ask where would you click to do X, Y and Z? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery Test someone else’s page or site Task Based Testing Real users doing typical tasks Observers Analysis Secret to Writing for the Wired World Observe, test, and learn Test some more Thank you! Questions? Darlene Fichter Northern Lights Internet Solutions Ltd. Web Sites Usability & Writing http://www.lights.com/talks/
