Standards Task – Top 5 rules for writing online

After reading all of the material provided in the links from the course notes, I believe that the top 5 rules for writing on the web are as follows:

1. Be Concise – Ge t the point quickly and try only the relevant information where ever possible. Also ensure that all relevant information is kept to one page.  Users will not read pages and pages of data if they cannot find the info they are looking for. If there is more information/detail required, create a link that the user can navigate to and print off to read at a later date.
2. Make pages scannable – Include lists, bold fonts and meaningful sub headings to highlight relevant points. Again users will become frustrated if they cannot find their information quickly. This is especially important if they have navigated in via a link  another site.
3. Use a “top down” (inverted pyramid) approach – In other words ensure that the important information is summarised up front, followed by the details and background information.  This ensures that you catch the reader’s attention immediately. If the reader is interested/attracted, they will then  take the time to read the rest of the item presented.
4. Use hypertext / links thoughfully – Ensure that your hypertext links are meaningful. Users want to be able to quickly navigate directly to the information they require.  Use a “Home” button on each of your pages to assist users in returning to the main points of interest. Also , as mentioned in point 1 above, if there is additional data on your subject matter, the creation of a link to this material will allow the user to navigate to it a print it off for reading at a later date. Note: Avoid excessive use of links. This will only confuse the reader who may use one of the links to navigate out of your site, then be too confused or distracted to return.
5. Keep your design simple - Consider that the use of large graphics, frames and animations will only slow down the loading of your page for users with slower connections. This may discourage visitors from returning to your site. Over use of multimedia on your page may also distract visitors from the important material contained in the text. Again, if you have important multimedia material, create a thumbnail and hypertext link to the full version.

References:

Web Teaching Articles – Writing for the Web. (Dartmouth Collecge) September 2003

Writing Web Pages  – Top 5 Conventions (Dennis G Jerz)

How to write for the web (Full Paper) – ( John Morkes & Jacob Nielsen) 1997

Is the advice in Nielsen’s paper — written in 1997 – still current?

Yes, I believe it is. In fact with the onset of blogs ect, if fell that it is more current than ever. When contributing to a general discussion group/ blog ect, it is most important (I feel) to get to the point quickly. Other members of that group are not interested in reading an essay type post, unless it provides useful data and is easy to read.

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~ by hazzos01 on July 8, 2009.