Usability and Writing for the Web Best Practices

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Usability and Writing for the WebBest Practices

• Anne L. Allen
• Center for Instructional Technology and Training

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Content

• Provide Useful Content
• Provide useful and usable content that supports
  the Web site goal on each page
• Content is the most critical element of a Web site

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Content

• Use Short Sentence / Paragraph lengths
• Write sentences with 20 or fewer words
• Write paragraphs with fewer than five sentences
• Use lists to break up long sentences

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Titles and Headings

• Provide Page Titles
• Place a descriptive and different title on each
  page
• Titles are used by search engines to identify
  pages when users search
• If two or more pages have the same title, they
  cannot be differentiated by users or the
  favorites capability of a browser

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Titles and Headings

• Well-Designed Headings
• Give strong clues about a pages organization and
  structure
• Classify information on a page
• Are an important tool for scanning text
• Headings are often removed and used in tables of
  content and search engine results

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Page Length

• Determine Page Length
• Use Short pages for
• Home pages and all navigation pages
• Pages that need to be browsed/read online
• Pages with very long graphics
• Use Long Pages for
• Simplify page maintenance
• Match the structure of a paper counterpart
• Make pages more convenient

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Page Length

• Paging v. Scrolling
• If reading speed is important and response time
  is reasonably fast, use paging (linking) rather
  than scrolling
• Users should be able to move from page to page by
  selecting links (paging) without always scrolling
  to important information

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Page Layout

• Be Consistent
• Place logos, recurring text, buttons, and
  graphics in a consistent position on all pages.
• Users tend to learn and remember locations of
  information, functions and controls

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Page Layout

• Reduced Unused Space
• Reduce the amount of unused space on pages used
  for scanning and searching.
• The greater the density the faster the scanning
• Use some white space to separate paragraphs and
  ideas but less than you would on paper

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Page Layout

• Important Info at Top of Page
• Important items above the fold
• Users usually scan from top to bottom, center to
  left, to right
• All critical content and navigation should be at
  the top of the page

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Page Layout

• Format for Efficient Viewing
• Structure each page to facilitate scanning
• Between 75 and 79 of users scan any new page
• Only 16 read word-by-word
• 78 of users focus first on text, not graphics

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Font / Text Size

• Use Familiar Fonts
• Do not mix serif and sans serif fonts within the
  text, because it decreases reading speed

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Reading and Scanning

• Use Reading Performance or User Preference
• Users tend to read faster when line lengths are
  long 100 characters
• Users tend to prefer shorter line lengths 55
  characters

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Reading and Scanning

• Enhance Scanning
• Clear links
• Headings
• Short phrases and sentences
• Short paragraphs
• Page chunking

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Concise Text

• Keep text to the minimum that will get your
  information across.
• Use a simple, brief style of writing.
• Avoid sidetracks and irrelevancies if you were
  going to put something in brackets, it probably
  isn't necessary.
• If only a small minority of users need certain
  information, link to that rather than including
  it in the page.

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Objective Language

• Avoid clichés
• No exaggeration, subjective claims, or boasting
• Users dislike anything the seems like marketing
  or overly hyped language and prefer factual
  information

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Software / Hardware

• Connection speed
• Design for connection speed of 56k
• 60 of users user a 56k or slower connection
  speed
• Actual speeds are about 38 lower the modem
  capability
• 56k then actually means about 35k

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Software / Hardware

• Reduce download time
• A study reported the users rated download times
  as follows
• Good up to 5 seconds
• Average from 6 to 10 seconds
• Poor over 10 seconds

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Software / Hardware

• Consider Users Screen Resolution
• 1024 x 768 65
• 800 x 600 10
• 640 x 480 5
• Higher resolutions 201280 x 1024, 1600 x
  1200, etc.

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9 Pointers for Writing for the Web

• Less Text
• Make it Scannable
• Uniformity
• Significant Information First
• Choose Objective Language
• Say What You Do
• Use Lists
• Keep it Current
• No Underlining

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Usability Conclusion

• Web Facts
• 79 of users always scan only 16 read
  word-by-word
• Reading from computer screens is 25 slower than
  from paper
• Web content should be 50 the size of its paper
  equivalent
• White Papers re-written according to these
  guidelines have shown significant improvements in
  all metrics
• Task Time 180 faster
• User Error 809 fewer
• Memory 100 more
• Subjective satisfaction 37 higher
• Overall usability 159 better