Web writing

Sentences: Streamline them online

And activate passive voice online

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:

1.

… Read the full article

Make it relevant

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen recommends condensing copy by 50% online.

That’s certainly a useful guideline. But no single, overarching rule makes sense all the time.… Read the full article

Shorter webpages nearly 60% more usable

When usability guru Jakob Nielsen wanted to measure the effects of short web copy, he studied a webpage about Nebraska.… Read the full article

Because ‘readers’ don’t read

Here’s the title of one of usability expert Jakob Nielsen’s earliest web-writing articles:¹

How Users Read on the Web

The first paragraph:

They don’t.

… Read the full article

Improve your fact-to-fluff ratio

Aim for a 1:1 proportion

Readers are busy. Fluff takes space. Space takes time. So let’s cut the fluff and get on with it.

To cut the fluff, aim for a fact-to-fluff ratio of at least 1:1.… Read the full article

Don’t bury your message under sharing buttons, bylines and chrome

People spend 84% more time above the fold than below it, according to Nielsen Norman Group’s analysis of 57,453 eyetracking fixations;
Google 2014 analysis of display advertising.… Read the full article

Visitors spend 84% of their time above the fold

Does the fold still matter?

Yes it does, say the researchers at the Nielsen Norman Group: The 100 pixels just above the fold were viewed 102% more than the 100 pixels just below the fold, according to an analysis of 57,453 eyetracking fixations that the usability research firm has tracked over the years.… Read the full article

Mobile makeover for depression post

Communicator transforms piece for the small screen

Make mine to go.

More than half of your audience members now receive your emails, visit your webpages and engage with your social media channels via their mobile devices, not their laptops.… Read the full article

Pass the 1-2-3-4 Test

Put the hot stuff up top

People spend 84% more time above the fold than below it, according to the Nielsen Norman Group.[1]

So don’t blow your top.… Read the full article

Screen reading hurts your brain

Problem solving + divided attention = cognitive overload

It’s been proven in the lab: Online multitasking temporarily lowers your IQ more than smoking weed. (And, from what I’ve read, is a much less interesting way to get stupid.)

That’s according to a 2005 study conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London and funded by Hewlett-Packard.… Read the full article