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Title: How To Make Sure Your Visitors Read What You Write!
Author: Lindsay du Plessis
Article:
<B>How To Make Sure Your Visitors Read What You Write!</B>
<B>- A Lesson From Journalism 101</B></P>
When most people open a newspaper, they look for the most
interesting, bold and colourful images on the page. There is no
time to read a whole newspaper from cover to cover, just as
there is no time to read every single word on a web page,
especially if it is really full of text.
Readers today are generally referred to as "scanners" because
that is what they do. They scan the page looking for the most
interesting item on the page, which often makes the contents
obsolete.
This is a great difficulty for people in the content industry
because it means that we have to write sensational, catchy and
often clichéd stories. This is where the design of a page
becomes crucial, both in the print and Internet industries.
More is not always better .
<B>HOW PEOPLE READ:</B>
Mario Garcia, a pioneer in newspaper design in the USA,
developed a format called EYETRAC, which shows howa reader looks
at a page, also known as page navigation.
We start at the top in most cases, or at a strong visual point
of entry, and then move around the page. This is why most well
designed newspapers and web pages will put a photograph or
graphic at the top of the page, near to the main headline or
line of type.
A reader generally looks at the page in the following order:
Photo, headline, caption, and text. Text is last, and unless he
previous elements convince them that there is something to read,
they will turn the page or scroll down.
For this reason, it is vital to put different information
relating to the subject in each element. Don't repeat the same
information in the picture and in the headline and then explain
exactly what the picture is. For example, if Bob Jones is
holding a 50 kilogram fish, don't say, "This is Bob Jones with
his 50 kilogram catch," when your headline is "Bob Jones lands
50 kg monster!"
<B>YOUR FIRST PARAGRAPH:</B>
It is also important to make the first 25 words of your text
captivating and interesting so that the reader will be hooked
into the page.
It is also useful to make that first paragraph a bit bolder so
that it attracts attention, but not too much so that it
unbalances the page.
Keep in mind that people on the Net make their decisions about
web sites based on what loads first, and what loads quickly -
normally what they see in the first screen view.
Make your first screen count!
BTW. the same also applies to emails you send out.
<B>GRAPHICS AND FONTS:</B>
It is important not to clutter the page with too much fancy
animation or complicated fonts. This confuses the eye,
especially on a computer screen, and puts the reader off from
the beginning.
Simpler is better because it makes it easier to navigate
thepage. Simple fonts are also easier to pick up on all servers
and computers, where as complicated or unusual fonts aren't as
accessible. The kind of font you use also creates an impression.
You should think of your page as a person and try to design it
with that image in mind. For example, the Wall Street Journal is
a formal and educated elderly man because of its design and
content. Serif fonts are more formal and should be used
sparingly if you want to attract younger readers.
Sans serif fonts are less formal and are easier to read on a
computer screen. Fonts like verdana and arial are especially
good for this purpose because they create white space and gives
the page air.
<B>WHITE SPACE AND BALANCE:</B>
White space is a very important design tool and can helpmake a
page accessible and easy to navigate. Correctly used to balance
a page or highlight an image or paragraph, white space is very
effective.
One must also remember that irregular shapes draw the eye first,
so unless you want people to start reading at the bottom of the
page, don't put an irregular shape there, especially if it is in
colour. This unbalances the page and confuses the navigation
process, which should be as simple as possible. It is also
important not to overlap text and images.
<B>KEEP IT MODULAR:</B>
A page should be as modular as possible. In other words,things
that are related should be together and be able to be closed up
into a box on the page.
<B>BACKGROUNDS AND COLOURS:</B>
It is also important not to make the background on you web page
very complicated because it clashes with the text.A simple
colour or design works best, both for readability and for server
usage.
This is especially true of a blue background, as it causes the
images and text to vibrate on the screen and makes it impossible
to read.
You should also keep colours in mind when creating a page,
because colours have subconscious connotations for readers. When
choosing a colour, keep your "pageperson" in mind and try to
think of all the connections people will make with the colour.
And remember, more colour is not necessarily better. Use it for
effect or to draw the reader's attention to a subject. People
will rather look at a colour photo before a black and white one,
so keep that in mind.
<B>CONCLUSION:</B></P>
These ideas and tips are taught to journalists in journalism
school and you would be well advised to keep them in mind when
you design your web pages to make your pages
more"user-friendly".
The easier-to-read and more enticing they are, the more people
will read them and the more success you will have.
About the author:
Lindsay du Plessis is a free-lance journalist based in South
Africa. She has been published on the Net and in newspapers in
Enland and South Africa. Visit her web site at
http://www.thetraveljournalist.com
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