Activate the passive voice on the web
Simple sentences — subject, verb, object — are easiest to read, online or off.
That’s why Jan H. Spyridakis, professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, suggests that you:
Web writing
Scannable content makes message 34% more memorable
Also increases understanding, satisfaction
The more words on a web page, the longer visitors will stay.
But is that really the best metric to measure? What if you could engage users on a page for half the time, yet have them remember one-third more of the content?… Read the full article
How people read on tablets
Insights from Poynter’s EyeTrack study
Call it the bailout point.
People reading news on an iPad spent an average of 78.3 seconds on stories that they didn’t finish.… Read the full article
Reach three types of web visitors
Get the word out to lookers, skimmers & readers
Online readers read shallow and deep, according to The Stanford Poynter Project: Eye Movement on the Internet, a study by Stanford University and The Poynter Institute.… Read the full article
Why is scannability of a website important?
Because readers spend only a few seconds on a web page
Tick tock. Visitors spend less than four seconds on 25% of the web pages they visit, according to a study by University of Hamburg and University of Hannover researchers.… Read the full article
What lede (or lead) should you use for web content?
4 types of web leads to try — and 3 to avoid
Lede or lead?
You won’t find it in the Oxford English Dictionary. But the alternative spelling lede was supposedly created during the linotype era so as not to confuse lead with the strip of metal that was used to separate lines of type.… Read the full article
Weed out your web page above the fold online
Don’t bury your message under sharing buttons, bylines and chrome
Web visitors spend 74% of their time on the first two screens, just 26% on all remaining screens, according to the Nielsen Norman Group
So once you’ve placed the most important elements above the fold, the next step is to weed out anything that’s pushing those key elements down the page.… Read the full article
Why get key content above the fold [statistics]?
And where is the fold, anyway?
“Instant gratification takes too long,” said Carrie Fisher, the late actress, author and wit.
When it comes to interacting with websites, she was certainly correct.… Read the full article
Get content above the fold on mobile
Put the hot stuff up top with the 1-2-3-4 test
Web visitors spend 74% of their time on the first two screens, just 26% on all remaining screens, according to the Nielsen Norman Group
So don’t blow your top.… Read the full article
What’s the difference between reading paper vs. computer screen
Reading online hurts readers’ eyes, their bodies, their brains
I don’t know about you, but one of my goals in life is to never write anything that makes my readers throw up, resign or forget where they parked their car.… Read the full article