Website Content Usability

In recent articles we have discussed the importance of layout and navigation in creating a website with a high usability rating. However, all the best navigation in the world will do you no good if your visitors are navigating around bad content. Beauty may be skin deep, but usability isn't just about looking good. In last month's article we compared a website to a big house with lots of rooms and hallways. Imagine your content is the interior decoration of that house. You are the host or hostess. If your house is interesting, eye-catching, and enjoyable, your guests may even want to come back for more! When we say, "content", we mean your website copy, your message. Websites have a million different messages and a million different ways to say things, but there are some basic content usability guidelines that are appropriate for everyone. First one should realize that when internet users "read" a web page, they do not read it as carefully as they would, say, a book. They scan. In a 1997 study by "inverted pyramid style" most often found in newspaper articles. As in a newspaper article, you lead with the conclusion, and then use the facts to back your argument, rather than slowly building your argument to the ultimate conclusion. This way your reader can see the point right away, and then scan for the details as they see fit. The inverted style pyramid saves the reader time, and saves you some customers, since many people will not read a whole article anyways. Even though we compare the content of website copy to that of a newspaper article, do not think that people will read them the exact same way. Newspapers are actually much easier on the eyes than a computer screen. Users read 25% more slowly from screens, due to that difference in reading comfort. So not only are you competing with your users' attention span, you are competing with their natural speed. 73% of Nielsen's subjects said they would leave a site if they were bored and had to wait for things to load or look around a lot for the information they wanted. They want to be "in and out". Users may be dealing with a great deal of discomfort when using computers. On average, humans blink 12 to 15 times per minute. During intense tasks, or looking back and forth such as during data entry, or doing anything that require long period of staring at the screen, blinking can be reduced. Optometrist Dr. Gary J. Williams explains that reduced blinking during intense tasks can cause eye discomfort, dry eye, eye strain, and blurring. Dr. Williams suggest that website designers use plain text fonts closely similar to those found in usual hard copy publications such as newspapers or books. He recommends short lines of print, space between lines, and dark, not bright, colors. Distracting backgrounds or backgrounds that do not contrast enough with the text can be frustratingly distracting and difficult on the yes as well. Though you should consider that your content is to be viewed on a glowing computer screen, you should also consider that your content really is a medium that deserves the time and care that other forms of publication deserve. Content-management expert Gerry McGovern is the author the books and . World-renowned for his work, McGovern approaches the web medium as a form of publication. He views the words on your page to be the most critical aspect of your design, though his approach does not ignore the value of navigation and graphics, he feels that actions are ultimately driven by words. McGovern stresses that currently, the popular idea is that if you simply make all your content available, people will find it and read it. But availability does not directly translate to usability. McGovern leads daylong seminars in content usability where he explains what he feels are key steps to approaching website content as a publication: create, edit, and publish. He also stresses information architecture, or how you organize and present your content. The Inverted Pyramid Style is a form of information architecture, as is the practice of organizing information into chunks and bulleted lists. Remember "the 7 plus or minus 2 rule". In their short-term memory, the average person can store seven bits of information at once, plus or minus two. For this reason, breaking your content into smaller bit of information will make your information easier for your readers to process and remember. Many usability experts recommend that you break up your information as much as possible. However, according to human factors engineer and usability professional John S. Rhodes, this does not mean you should take your current site of ten pages and divide the same information out into 40 pages. Since your users will be navigating rather quickly, you do not want them to get so click-happy that they forget what they saw three pages ago. It is easier to scroll up and down several paragraphs than it is to click the back and forwards button searching for what you want. Keeping similar information on one page makes reference easier. For example, in his article "Three Click Rule does not apply to each and every user does not mean it is a bad idea to employ the practices it suggests. When discussing the viability of the rule, most website designers would say that no matter how many clicks are involved, focusing on your information structure and making sure it is optimized for your users success is always a good idea. Gerry McGovern insists that creativity need not be sacrificed for structure and standards, so long as we all move within those standards. Information architecture, just like navigation, needs to be consistent across the Internet in order to maximize usability. Users work best with what is familiar, and that goes for content and content structure as well. McGovern uses XML, the evolution of HTML. XML (Extensible Markup Language) brings us new standards. Our standards NEED to evolve in order to keep up with the information overload we are facing- over 2.5 billion documents are in the internet, increasing by 7.5 million a day. Keeping a standard for the way we find, organize, and process these documents is necessary for their usability. Bill Gates and Microsoft support XML. Gates has called XML "the third phase of the Internet". Use of the XML standard is rising, as companies and organizations such as Reuters, the US Patent Office, and Continental Airways have all begun implementing it. The economy of information is just as important in contemporary business as the economy of products. Your website is your voice. Yes, it comes with a lot more bells and whistles than a book or a piece of paper. It can be tempting to get wrapped up in theatrics and technology and forget that the basis of all communication is language. Your content is how you speak to your customers, so it should be given as much careful thought and planning as your navigation, layout, and graphics. If you make your content easy to read, process, and understand you will keep your users satisfied, and keep them coming back for more. Meghan Whitmore is a professional copywriter and part of the Directory One, Inc., search engine optimization and website design team. For more information, please visit: http://www.directoryone.com.