"The Desktop Global Marketer" (tm)

   A free on-line newsletter of Sidereal Designs, Inc.,
   for Internet Entrepreneurs, and those who are
   considering becoming one.
_____________________________________________________

                  November 7th, 1998
In this issue:

	"Writing for the web is different than writing 
         for print, and habits that work for one are 
         wrong for the other."
_____________________________________________________

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_____________________________________________________

I like to write. I like to write well. That's a problem for
a web-author.  

The reason is that writing for the web is different than
writing for print, and habits that work for one are wrong
for the other. In this issue we'll look at some of those
differences.

A webmaster's site is a lot like the cobbler's children who
are the last to have shoes. You're too busy working on
everyone else's to mind your own. I've known for a long time
my site needs work; the writing style is too dense and
expository for the web. It's one of those things I've been
meaning to fix any day now.....

I came across a site the other day that actually broke me
out of that procrastination and has me grabbing spare
moments to try to make improvements. You should look at it
too - BEFORE you write the text for your web pages. It's
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting. There's also a link
to it now on my "Useful Stuff" page at
http://siderealdesigns.com.

The origin of the material on this site is a research
project on how users read on the Web and how authors should
write their Web pages. The studies were done in the SunSoft
Science Office by John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen. The bottom
line is: the medium is different, the format is different,
and people read very differently than they do on the printed
page. You must write differently for web pages if you want
people to read them and to retain what you say. Even if you
are a great print writer, in fact ESPECIALLY if you are a
great print writer, you should understand why and how this
is true before you try to write copy for your web pages.

Let's look at a few facts from this study.

* People do not usually READ web pages. They SCAN them.
* Web-readers skip all ideas but the first in any paragraph.
* Credibility is more important. Anyone can put up a web page
  for free.
* Readers only tolerate about half the length they will in 
  print.
* They will not scroll down unless you have hooked them with
  what they see at their first glance.
* They will never, ever, scroll laterally.
* They want quick, straight information. "Marketese" drives 
  them off.
* They lose the thought while the next page loads.

Some of these things have to do simply with the medium; web
pages have a far smaller "window" on the text than a paper
page does. The eye can't track as smoothly when
scrolling. Perception is more work on a self-luminous
source. The result is that people read differently to
conserve cognitive effort.

Other reasons have to do with why the reader is there, how
they found your information, and how critically they are
viewing it. More often than not web-readers are using the
web more like a reference source than like expository
text. More often than not they have no reason to suppose you
know what you're talking about. Unlike the web, it usually
takes at least some qualifications to get your words into
printed material.

Here are some things you can do about these different habits
of web-reading:

First, organize your page layout to accommodate it. Keep your
text narrow so it is easily scanned. (But never use multiple
columns for the same writing or they'll need to scroll down
and then back up - and they wont.)

Organize it to give them visual anchors. Use bold or
highlighted keywords liberally. Use visible, useful,
sub-headings. Put facts in bulleted lists. Give them visual
reference points to help keep track when scrolling.

Organization and layout also help credibility. Don't let
your page look amateurish or they're much less likely to
actually read what you have to say. Use clean, professional
design and smart-looking original graphics. Don't decorate
with little icons everyone has seen before. Don't use gaudy
backgrounds that make text hard to read.

Worry a lot about how fast your pages load. People wont wait
long, but even if they do there is a limited duration for
which they can hold an idea before reading on without losing
focus.

For the writing itself, modify your style to grab them early
and keep them reading.  Your big enemy is length. Pare it
down; use half the word-count you would in print.

Put your central idea or conclusion first. Then elaborate it
in what follows. Don't write an essay leading up to it. If it
interests them they'll read on for the details, but they won't
read on to find out if it does.

Keep your paragraphs much shorter than is normal for
print. Use only one idea per paragraph.

Clear writing is easier to read. Make it clear, concise, and
simple and they will keep reading. Clear writing is also
more credible.  Above all don't use exaggeration and
hyperbole.

A list organization helps both clarity and scanning.

Worry a lot about how you divide your material among your
pages. On the one hand you don't want them to have to wait
in mid-thought while a new page loads, but on the other you
don't want to make them scroll to Antarctica on one
never-ending page. Liberal use of hyperlinks to elaborations
of key thoughts can help - make sure they lead to important
and self-contained material. Never have a page without at
least a 'home' button.

As in all things, there are exceptions. It's perfectly fine
to send them to some dense, expository pages at the back of
the site for detailed information and discussion of key
ideas that have been presented up front, or for auxiliary or
reference material. They'll probably want to print it out
and read it later anyway if they're interested enough to get
that far.

Remember, all the page-hits in the world won't help if they
click on without reading. Put as much or more effort into
your writing and design as into your site-promotion.

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