Transcript WWW: Writing for the Wired World

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/