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Writing for the Web
Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, ScM
[email protected]
Tufts Summer Institute on Web Strategies
for Health Communication
July 17-22, 2011
http://webstrategiesforhealth.com
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Taglines
Changes From 2000-2009:
Internet Access and Health Seeking
2000
2009
• 46% of American adults
had access to the
Internet
• 25% of American adults
looked online for health
information
• 74% of American adults
have access to the
Internet
• 61% of American adults
look online for health
information
The Social Life of Health Information, June 2009,
http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Health_2009.pdf
The internet is not the primary source
for health issues
• When asked, "Now thinking about all the sources
you turn to when you need information or
assistance in dealing with health or medical
issues..."
– 86% of all adults ask a health professional such as a
doctor
– 68% of all adults ask a friend or family member
– 57% of all adults use the internet
– 54% use books or other printed reference material
– 33% contact their insurance provider
The Social Life of Health Information, June 2009,
http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Health_2009.pdf
The Information Age Enters A New Era:
Increased Access and Increased Complexity
January 2010 “The Splinternet”
Does anyone in N. America read books?
• Researchers followed people around for a few days and
recorded their media use, finding that:
• 99% of the video people watch is on TV; 1% on
computers
• Average consumption is 309 minutes of live TV per day
• Plus 23 min. of watching DVD/videotape and 15 minutes
of DVR
• 2 minutes of watching video on the computer
• 49 minutes of Web browsing per day and 37 minutes of
email use
• And then there’s mobile access….
Nielsen, http://www.researchexcellence.com/news/032609_vcm.php
How people use content on the web
• Web users
– Skim and scan
– Read news, blog posts, short descriptions
– Don’t read more because they are often engaged in a
task or browsing
• Why don’t web users look for the best choice
– In a hurry so seek efficiency
– Minimal penalty to guessing wrong
• Why the “back” button is used
• Why load time matters
• Trying can be more fun that carefully weighing all options
and introduces serendipitous experiences
How people read online
What makes writing for the Web work?
• Good web writing
– Is like a conversation
– Answers people’s questions
– Lets people get what they want and leave
People are all different
• People have different
– Needs
– Backgrounds and demographics
– Prior knowledge and experience
– Abilities and disabilities
– Contexts and environments
• Why is this important?
• Techniques for learning about potential
visitors
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Mimi Rodriguez,
Baptist Health
South Florida
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“Search engines rule the Web”
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7417496.stm
• http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
• Not much has changed…
• http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-textread.html
• http://www.useit.com/alertbox/print-vsonline-content.html
Divide and conquer…
Divide web content by
• time or sequence
• task
• people
• type of information
• questions people ask
Decide how much to put on one web page by considering
• how much people want in one visit
• how connected the information is
• how long the web page is
• the download time
• whether people will want to print
• how much they will want to print
Order and describe information
Divide by use
Document length
What does it look like?
• Is centered text easier to read?
• Is colored text easier to read?
• Is italicized text easier to read?
• What about pretty fonts?
• In general, use left-justified text
with judicious use of bold
appropriate punctuation
good color contrast
and meaningful imagery
Branding and graphics
• So much for writing
– Let people read as little as possible
• Remember the role of advertising
Textual content
• Content needs to be designed for the target audience
– Support their needs
– Support their information-seeking behavior
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Content needs to be laid out appropriately
The name and tagline give a message and need to be memorable
Content should tagged with date, author, and keywords as appropriate
Content needs to be readable without confusing language, jargon, or
abbreviations (or a glossary)
Content in a site and supplemental sites, newsletters, and other
materials needs to be consistent as appropriate
It should be clear what is expert- or user-generated
Social media requires new skills
Language, localization, translation, and culture: growing issues
What do analytics indicate?
How easy is it to locate content on the site on in a search engine?
Everything is content: labels, menus, etc.
Visual content
• Imagery can be very powerful
• It needs to be appropriate and convey the
right message
Emerging forms of writing
• Can you be insightful and meaningful in 140
characters?
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More discussion topics
– Understand your audience: breadth of audience and depth of need
– Types of web writing: Web site names, urls, and tag lines,
descriptive text, articles, comments, email, social networking tools
and how to write for them (twitter, blogs, etc.)
– How is writing for the web different than other types of writing
– Pyramid and summary
– H1s tell the story
– Layout and graphics
– Links, when to send people away, and how much to provide
– Expert- vs. user-generated content
– Multiple types of literacy
– Quality and the role of spell-checkers, proofreading, etc.
– Skills and strategies needed to write effectively
– Cost