Usability and Writing for the Web

May 2001

How do people read on the Web?

In order to write effectively for the Web, it's useful to know a bit about the way people read on the Web. According to usability studies:

• Web users tend to scan pages, rather than reading them word-for-word.
• Lengthy documents are often printed out, rather than read online.
• Reading from a computer screen is slower than reading printed text.
• Web users reading online newspapers look first at text, and only later at graphics, if they look at them at all. Users look at headlines, sub-headings and article summaries first.
• Users often alternate between multiple tasks and browser windows. For example, while waiting for one site to load they may visit another or check their e-mail.

How should this affect writing for the Web?

How you apply what you know about reading on screen to your writing will depend on your target audience and the type of materials you are working with. The following broad guidelines apply to most types of writing:

• Write so that text can be easily scanned—for example, use headlines, sub-headings and bulleted lists.
• Provide summaries and printer-friendly versions of long documents.
• Use graphics sparingly. While graphics are often useful and at times essential, they are slow to download and are not the first thing users are drawn to.
• Make it easy for users to find information quickly.
• Avoid filling the full width of the screen with text (a full screen of text on a 17 inch monitor is particularly difficult to read). Appropriate techniques will vary according to the nature and length of the material—possibilities include the use of columns of text or wide margins on either side of the text.

Usability: technical issues

The complexities of Web usability mean that it is useful to know something about how technical and design issues may affect the way people see your text. Ideally, your organization should develop a Web template and guidelines to ensure that the basic technical requirements for developing readable Web sites are met.

Technical issues relating to usability and readability stem from the difficulties of reading on-screen on the one hand, and cross-browser and platform compatibility on the other.

• Many fonts that are perfectly legible on the printed page are difficult to read on screen. Where possible, choose font faces that are both easy to read and are part of the standard set provided with the Windows 95 and above and Mac OS operating systems. Among the safer choices are Verdana, Arial and Times New Roman for the PC, and Helvetica and Times for the Mac.
• Font sizes display differently according to screen resolution and operating system. Take care—especially when using small font sizes—that your text will remain legible.
• Colours often display differently on different systems and browser versions, which can lead to some text colours and text/background combinations being difficult or impossible to read. Choose colours from the "Web safe" palette.
• Bear in mind that users have different types and levels of access to the Web, ranging from fast connections at their own desks, to dial-up connections in shared or public facilities; some users retrieve Web documents by e-mail. Take these usability and cost implications into account when designing documents and deciding in which format/s to make them available.

Outside content

The nature of the Web makes it easy for writers and Web developers to link to external resources and even to include materials from external sources on their sites.

Linking to external resources

The possibility of linking to external as well as internal resources is one of the defining characteristics of the Web. Links to other sites can be an excellent way of referring readers to additional materials and related organizations. If poorly organized, however, they may serve as little more than a distraction.

Some general principles for reader-friendly linking:

• Let your reader know when a link will take them to an external Web site (and don't frame other people's content on yours). Some organizations choose to include a disclaimer at this point stating that they are not involved with the external site or responsible for its data quality.
• Be cautious in your use of hypertext links in the body of your text—too many links can interrupt the flow of reading.
• Annotate links. Knowing where a link will take them, and what type of information they will find there helps the reader decide whether the link is worth following. Does it, for example, take them to an article, another organization or to yet another list of links?
• Where possible, link directly to the most relevant page on the external site. If the external site uses frames, describe the path to reach the document (for example, "go to Programmes -> Internet projects -> Web management resources.")
• Focus your links. In general it's more useful to point your readers to a small collection of good external resources, rather than to a long list of ones of unknown value.
• Check external links regularly, and update them if necessary.

Example

The South African National Research Foundation's Yenza! Site (http://www.nrf.ac.za/yenza/)

Yenza! is a site developed to support and promote the use of the Internet for research and teaching in the social sciences. The site offers a combination of materials developed in-house and links to outside resources. All links to resources are annotated with a brief description of the content found on the external site.

Along with materials on using the Internet, conducting research, and Web development, the site includes a section of discipline-specific links. When the site was conceptualized it was decided that this particular section would include links to all relevant South African online resources, but that only a small selection of outstanding international resources would be provided. Users are offered annotated links to top subject-specific resources and information gateways rather than a long list of external sites.

URLs for all external links are given in full for ease of reference if materials are printed out, rather than just linking from text.

SD Case Study

Linking to External Resources: FARN
In order to ensure that site users are aware of when they may be exiting the FARN Web site, the organization has developed a set of guidelines for text and link appearance.