Usability is the art and science of making things easier to use. The first law of usability is “Don’t make me think.” Keep these things in mind when developing pages:
- Try to make pages self-evident; if that’s not possible then make them self-explanatory
- People don’t read pages, they scan them
- Site visitors typically don’t make optimal decisions, they choose the first reasonable option
- Usually site visitors don’t figure out how things work, they muddle through (if they find something that works, they stick to it)
Designing pages for scanning
Since site visitors scan information, make it easier on them:
- Develop a clear visual hierarchy
- Make more important things more prominent
- Things that are related logically should be related visually
- Follow heading conventions
- Make it obvious what’s clickable
- Don’t allow visual ‘noise’, or distractions
- Create mindless choices
- Omit unnecessary words
- Remove intro text or instructions, unless it’s short, scan-able or useful to the site visitor
Site navigation
Navigation provides a site visitor a path around the site. Some site visitors are search-first; some are browse-first. Ways to ensure easy-to-follow navigation:
- Follow navigation conventions by keeping system names short
- Make sure global navigation appears on every page
- Global navigation should have site ID, a way home, way to search, utilities and sections (homepage can be an exception)
- Page names need to be prominent and match what site visitor clicked
- Make ‘you are here’ indicators stand out
- Breadcrumbs are a good supplement to good navigation but not a replacement
Test for good navigation; answer these questions by glancing at a page:
- What site is this?
- What page am I on?
- What are the major sections?
- What are my options at this level?
- Where am I on the site?
- How can I search?
Now, print out a page on the site, hold at arm’s length, squint, and answer above questions.
Best practices for web writing
Effective web writing follows an inverted pyramid style. The most important information is presented first, with additional supporting details to follow. By putting the main idea first, readers can decide if the content is relevant and either read more or move on.
Do:
- Be concise
- Start with the conclusion, then follow with the details
- Know your audience and make it easy for them to find the info they need
- Each paragraph should have only one main idea
- Write this way because web readers generally:
- Scan pages
- Pick out key words and phrases
- Read in quick, short bursts
- Are action-oriented
- Click and forage in search of bits of information that lead them towards a goal
Don’t:
- Welcome people to your website and explain what a website is.
- Put your mission statement on your homepage. It’s unlikely that visitors are searching for that information.
- Organize your website and write content to reflect your organization structure. Instead, organize content and write with the site visitor in mind.
- Put every piece of printed content you have on your website. If our visitors don’t need it and you can’t maintain it, don’t put it on our site.
- Post a PDF version of a document unless necessary. PDFs can pose issues with accessibility. If content was written for print, chances are it’s not appropriately formatted for our website.
- Recreate information that already exists. Instead, link to other portions of our site or other sites.
Tips
Remove out-of-date content. This sounds obvious but keeping content current can be difficult. Take an inventory of your site and make a list of every page that has content that will expire, then add reminders to your calendar for each instance.
Remove irrelevant content. Think of your audience, what information do they need from your site? Remove everything else.
Use the active voice. When writing in the active voice, the subject does the action (e.g. “The president released a statement.”) When writing in the passive voice, the subject receives the action (e.g. “A statement was released by the president.”)
Use simple words. You don’t need to impress your readers with your word choice. People read simple words faster.
Use longer, more descriptive links. Your users should know what to expect when clicking a link. When providing links in your content (contextual links), choose 7-11 words that are informative.
Use bulleted or numbered lists. Lists create chunks of content that facilitates scanning. For steps in a process, use numbered lists and action-oriented imperatives. Use lists for options, steps or items.
Use numerals. When writing numbers, particularly as they represent facts, use numerals instead of words (i.e., 5 instead of five)
Introductory text. A short intro should summarize the page and should be kept to one to two sentences. Research shows that some readers skip the introductory text on web pages if it’s not presented in a concise fashion.
Keep search in mind, use words that your target audiences use when searching. Ways to identify words your users search by surveying your audience or review analytics.
Word count
General guidelines for reducing your word count.
- Headings: 8-10 words or less
- Sentences: 15-20 words
- Paragraphs: 40-70 words
- Pages: 500 words or less