Writing Effective Hypertext

By Scott Wallace

This article is the last in a three-part series titled "Online Writing."

Part 1: Editorial Content on the Web. An introduction to the brave new world of hypertext.
Part 2: Usability. An overview of research into how people read Web content—information that influences every decision a writer makes.
Part 3: Writing Effective Online Copy. Guidelines for structuring and writing usable Web content.

Writing for the Web is like writing for print, only different

The difference between Web documents and print documents is hypertext. Hypertext liberates the reader—and writer—from the linear constraints of print-based text.

Like frogs on lily pads, hypertext users hop from place to place within a document, between documents on the same site, or among documents on far-flung nodes on the Net.

Hypertext enables users to "customize" their online quest for information. Ten readers starting at the same entry point might follow branching hyperlinks to 10 different destinations.

The Webwriter, notes content specialist Shorewalker.com, "faces the task of linking together pieces of prose, each on [a] different [screen], and turning them into a coherent whole."

Writing Webtext: A Dozen Pointers

The overarching goal for the Webwriter, as for the designer, should be to make it as easy as possible for users to do what they've come to a site to do. In most cases, this means accessing specific information.
To that end, keep these points in mind when writing Web documents:

  1. Know your audience. Use the answers to these questions to shape your content:
    • Who will be using the site?
    • What information will they be looking for?
    • What words will they use when scanning, browsing, and searching the site?
  2. Remember that most users scan, or skim, text rather than reading every word.
  3. Write only half as much text as you would in a print document. This is one of the core recommendations emerging from Jakob Nielsen's pioneering research on Web usability.
  4. Use the inverted pyramid style. Put the most important information where users can find it quickly; place less important information lower in the pyramid. Move unessential information to separate pages.
  5. Write short paragraphs and short sentences.
  6. Limit each paragraph to one idea, and summarize that idea in the first sentence. People tend to read only the first sentence or two of a paragraph when scanning online content.
  7. "Chunk" information. Information that's divided into short, self-contained "chunks" is easier to locate and scan.
  8. Use bulleted and numbered lists. Lists slow the scanning reader's eye and draw attention to important points.
  9. Write in the language your audience speaks. It is "borborygmus" to the physician, "gurgling stomach" to the lay reader. Use the words your readers do.
  10. Consider highlighting key words and phrases. Using bold text to highlight important words helps readers scan. Limit highlighted phrases to two or three information-bearing words. Highlight sparingly.
  11. Establish and maintain credibility. A site's credibility is important to users. Here are four ways to help make your site credible:
    • Be sure the information is accurate and current.
    • Avoid marketing hype.
    • Make certain the mechanics of your writing are correct and consistent.
    • Provide hyperlinks to other sources for background or supporting information.
  12. Think globally. If your target audience includes users who are not native speakers of American English, take into account differences in language and culture as you choose your words. Avoid jargon, slang, puns, humor, and metaphors that might be lost on or misunderstood by these readers.

Microcontent: Labels, Links, and Summaries

Microcontent, explains usability guru Jakob Nielsen, is an "ultra-short abstract" of associated content ("macrocontent"). "Microcontent" includes labels (headings), link text, and short summaries at the beginning of a section of text or in conjunction with a link. Carefully crafted microcontent is a cornerstone of good Web writing.

Microcontent

  • Helps readers determine if they want to read the macrocontent.
  • Aids in scanning.

Nielsen offers these suggestions for writing microcontent:

  • Explain clearly what the article, link, or chunk of text is about "in terms that relate to the user."
  • Communicate as much information as possible in as few words as possible.
  • Write in "plain language," avoiding puns and "cute" or "clever" headings.
  • Don't use "teasers" (e.g., "Find out how") "to entice people to click to find out what the story is about."
  • "Make the first word an important, information-carrying one" to facilitate scanning.
  • Start labels with different words. This makes them easier to differentiate when scanning a page or list.

Labels: Headings as Microcontent

"Labels" refers to all levels of headings. A label must, in Nielsen's words, be able "to stand on its own and make sense if the rest of the content is not available."

Links: Making Text Hyper

Hyperlinks are the heart of a site's navigation structure. Link text should summarize clearly and succinctly what users will find if they click on the link.

There are two types of links: those that are embedded in text and those that are grouped separately in lists (resource lists, menus, tables of contents). The writer, editor, and/or information designer must decide whether to embed links or cluster them together at the end of an article or section of text—or use a combination of these two approaches.

Be especially attentive when writing standalone links in lists, advises Pam Blackstone in "Making Links That Work," as these "may ultimately become search results and direct traffic to your site."

Summaries: Helping Readers Decide

Including a short summary of what users will find if they read the text that follows or click on a link helps them determine if doing so would be worth their while. The contents pages of most news sites, for example, combine headlines with brief summaries of the associated articles. Some of these sites also begin each article with a one- or two-sentence synopsis.

A New World

Usability, scannability, searchability, browsability, navigability; microcontent and macrocontent; HTML: this is the lingua franca of hypertext. It is a language in which technical writers must be articulate if they are to be marketable in the horizonless new world of online communication.

Resources

See Resources for further reading.

The Devil Mountain Views -- May/June 2002
(ebstc.org/newsletter/front.html)
For  suggestions, complaints, or (especially) compliments, contact dmvashwini@yahoo.com