Writing to be read

Introduction
'Content is King' has become a webmasters' cliché. But what does it mean? It means content should drive websites. Sites should provide clear, relevant, easily navigable information. You might have the prettiest site in the world. But if there's nothing to read there it's no use to anyone. You might have done all you can to make the site accessible to disabled users. But if the content is unreadable, you will have wasted your time.. Too often readability is squeezed out of discussion about websites. It shouldn't be: content, after all, is King.

Make scanning easy
The scanning eye will slow down when it registers certain signs. The eye will rest momentarily, for instance, on bold text. The reader will assume he is being told something significant. Use this and other devices that slow down the scanning eye to your advantage. Provide a menu of anchors at start of document (or in a table or left-hand frame) Give an opening summary/overview at the start of long pages Use - judiciously - coloured texts/backgrounds, numbered/unnumbered lists Put keywords in bold. Use carefully chosen headings and sub-heads to identify sections Put Top anchors in at end of sections Employ design to bring out content, not vice-versa.

Be brief and to the point
Once the scanning eye has identified something to read, the reader won't want to plough through acres of prose. Give people what they need to know as clearly and concisely as possible. Write short sentences (each with a clear topic) Short paragraphs (three sentences per paragraph will usually be enough) Avoid opening with prefatory or anecdotal material Employ the 'pyramid style', putting the most important information first.

Employ links
Links help keep the page short. There's no need to state everything when you can link to explanations, definitions, lists, etc. Links are coloured, too; the scanning eye rests momentarily on them. Make sure you: Open links to external sites in a new window to stop readers leaving your site Link to specific pages rather than simply homepages Give relevant 'background' links at the bottom of the page Avoid phrases like 'Click here' (people recognise links easily if they are given in the usual colour) Don't pad out your text with links to 'fill it up'

Be up to date
If your site's not up to date it lacks credibility. Why should anyone want to read on, let alone return? We've all seen web sites that are live but not really living. They were living once - last month or last year. That's not good enough. To maintain credibility, update statistics, numbers and examples.

Use page titles and meta-links
Give your page a title in the HTML document head section. This title appears along the very top of the user’s browser. (Look at the top left-hand of your browser now to see this page’s title.) If someone’s connection is slow this will be the first thing that appears in the browser. If someone wants to bookmark your page the title will become the text of the bookmark. In Dreamweaver putting in a title is easy. Go to Modify - Page Properties - Title. Add meta-tags so that your page can be located in a search engine.

Don't let your reader go! Invite comments, suggestions, reactions. The web is an interactive medium. Provide an e-mail link so the reader can contact you. Or point the reader to a discussion board or to somewhere else on the site that might interest him.