Resources

By Scott Wallace

Back to the Writing Effective Hypertext article

Because of space limitations, this is a considerably abbreviated list. For the complete list, including tangential topics not addressed in the article, contact the author.

Webwriting: General

Articles

• Collecting, Writing, and Revising Con tent
  Usability.gov on why easy-to-use content is critical; stages and guidelines for preparing easy-to-use content.
• Current Evidence-Based Guidelines on Web Design and Usability Issues
  Solid information from Usability.gov on titles and headings, page length, reading and scanning, and links.
• The Seven Qualities of Highly Successful Web Writing
  Clarity, relevance, brevity, scannability and readability, consistency, freedom from errors, good integration with site design. By Kathy Henning, from ClickZ.
• WebStyle Guide
  The Web's most comprehensive style guide for online writers and editors. By EBSTC's Scott Wallace.
• Writing for a Web Audience
  Constance Petersen's "Ten Webwriting Tips to Gain Your Web Visitors' Trust and Keep Them Coming Back for More." From IBM developerWorks.
• Writing for the Web
  Nine-part article on the art and science of writing online copy. Essential reading from usability maven Jakob Nielsen and his (former) Sun Microsystems colleagues.

Books

Web Word Wizardry, 2nd ed. Rachel McAlpine. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. 2002. ISBN 1-58008-223-8.
Comprehensive guide to writing for the Web and intranets that "illuminates the twilight zone between Web design and traditional business writing." Packed with solid, practical advice.

Newsletter

Quality Web Content
Subscribe here to Rachel McAlpine's informative e-mail newsletter for Web content writers. Check out her site, too.

Organization

STC's Online Information SIG
A "forum for technical communicators to share ideas and concepts related to the development and structure of online information." Site includes link to Hyperviews:Online, the SIG's Web-based newsletter.

Microcontent

• Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Titles, and Subject Lines
  From his Useit.com, Jakob Nielsen's guidelines for making microcontent "pearls of clarity."
• Love Your Labels
  Three techniques for writing effective labels: let your audience be your guide, avoid conformity, and rely on established conventions. By Samantha Bailey, in WebReview.
• Practical Magic: Issues In Link Planning and Design
  Excellent article that addresses three key questions: What level of terms should I link? How many links should I have? Where should I put the links? By Neil Perlin, in Hyperviews, online newsletter of STC's Online Information SIG. (Note that the link to this article will change when the spring issue is published, but the article will remain in the newsletter archives.)

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