Writing for the web is a fundamental article about web writing, written by some of the most remarkable experts in this field: Jakob Nielsen, PJ Schemenaur, Jonathan Fox. At the time (Jul 1998) all three worked for www.sun.com. A brief excerpt follows:
Writing for the Web
You can double the usability of your web site by following these guidelines: for two sample sites studied in Sun's Science Office, we improved measured usability by 159% and 124% by rewriting the content according to the guidelines.
Writing for the Web is very different from writing for print:
· 79% of users scan the page instead of reading word-for-word
· Reading from computer screens is 25% slower than from paper
· Web content should have 50% of the word count of its paper equivalent
Table of Contents
· Difference Between Paper and Online Presentation: Limit scrolling; use simple sentence structure; avoid cute headlines; update facts frequently.
· Working With a Designer: Combine page templates with professional artwork.
· Scannability: Highlight keywords; use bulleted lists; start with the conclusion.
· Navigation: Move detailed info to secondary pages.
· Writing to Be Read: Headlines and subheads; lists, captions, and hyperlinks.
· Writing to Be Found: Half of the users will navigate through search engines.
· Terms to Avoid: Don't call attention to web artifacts.
· Editorial Review of Web Pages: Fresh eyes and skilled editing improve your work.
· Web Facts: Significant improvements in all metrics.
