Text and Typography

Writing for online presentation is different than for traditional print publishing. The ideas listed below are a few ways to increase comprehension for the online reader:

1. Design your webpages to be scannable - 79% of web readers scan pages; they do not read word-by-word.
2. Use bulleted and numbered lists to draw attention to important points.
3. Use meaningful sub-headings - not "clever" ones.
4. Use only one main idea in each paragraph as users tend to skip any second point in the paragraph as they scan.
5. Start by telling the reader the conclusion - write in the pyramid style traditionally used in periodicals.
6. Use links to divide long articles into multiple pages
7. Make every page independent and explain its topic. A website can be entered in many ways, so never assume the reader has progressed sequentially through the pages, as in a book or magazine.
8. Decrease the word count for online text by 50% than as in a printed version.
9. Reading online text is about 25% slower than reading print.
10. Put important text at the top - readers may not scroll to see everything.
11. Use humor and an informal writing style to add a bit of personality.
12. Do not use puns for humor - they often do not work for international readers.
13. Use simple sentence structures as a convoluted and complex writing structure is often difficult to understand online.
14. Update pages often to reflect current statistics, numbers, and other information to help ensure credibility.
15. Use flowcharts, diagrams, and charts to illustrate information.
16. Avoid self-referential terms such as "Click here," "follow this link," and "this Web site." •