Usable Content

Readability Scannability Legibility Text Readability Scannability Legibility

Legibility (ease of reading letter forms) Readability (ease of reading content) Because the screen is much harder to read than a printed page . . . Use 50% of the amount of text on the Web that you would in print. Sentences should be concise and direct. Scannability is the ability of the eye to scan a page and quickly glean important information Keep paragraphs short (1-3 sentences each is common) Use subheadings that summarize each unit of information. Paragraphs are single-spaced and first line is not indented. Double space between paragraphs. Use bulleted and numbered lists when possible. People resist scrolling horizontally, but they will scroll vertically to follow information of interest. If a page gets too long, break it up into separate links. Write for both searchers and linkers. Legibility (ease of reading letter forms) Make type large enough and simple enough to be read. Times Roman, Arial, and Verdana are commonly used for body text—not only because they are legible but because they are also commonly available on the end users’ computers, whereas other fonts will not read properly in HTML if the end user doesn’t have them installed.

Bilboards & Headlines .

Get attention Target the audience Deliver a complete messag (USP / Hot News) Draw us into the body copy (make us click)

Every paragraph (as well as every page as a whole) is an inverted pyramid

Subheadings are direct and scannable. They lead us through an organized sequence of ideas (even though each paragraph could stand alone)

Home Page Content

Another Common Format: News and Other Original Content Look for model sites for the type of web site you want to build.

QUESTIONS?