Writing for the Web and Effective Web Design

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Writing for the Web and Effective Web Design

• IEEE Panel of Conference Organizers
• 26 July 2008
• Seattle, WA

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A Little Bit About Myself

• Dan Bocchino
• Web Content and Information Architecture Manager,
  IEEE Corporate Strategy and Communications (CSC)
• B.A./M.A. in English/Writing Studies
• 9 years experience at IEEE (Publications and CSC)
• Web Editor, Writer, Information Architect

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The Universe
TheUser
IEEE
IEEE
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From the mouths of our users

• Getting to information does not appear to be the
  main focus.
• Not really built to be a site for the general
  public.
• I would expect that the IEEE would be at the top
  of the game, because thats what we do.
• It appears that either I dont think the way it
  does, or its not friendly to me.
• Seems like information for members of IEEE, not
  a resource for technicians.
• Too much information too busy. Need to get
  more organized. Too many words.
• There are more steps than you need.

So what?
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The IEEE Web Presence
IEEE.org
About Conferences Education Membership Standards
and more
IEEE Societies IEEE Xplore IEEE Sections IEEE
Student Branches IEEE Conferences IEEE Job
Site IEEE Spectrum
Wikipedia Second Life You Tube
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Our 1st Site
The problem
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1999
The problem
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2002
The problem
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Today
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How many Web sites are on the ieee.org domain?

• 1

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One Web site One Voice

• There is only one Web site on the ieee.org
  domain.

• Within that Web site, there are
• sections
• subsections
• pages
• content elements.

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section subsection page content element
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Web site Purpose

• To help visitors to the site accomplish their
  tasks
• To help the organization achieve its strategic
  goals
• New members
• Conference attendees
• Revenue, etc.

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Usability

• The ease with which people can employ a tool or
  object in order to achieve a particular goal.
• Sites designed with the users' psychology and
  physiology in mind are highly usable
• Takes less time for users to accomplish a
  particular task
• Easier for users to learn
• More satisfying to use
• How do we measure usability?

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Usability Review

• Usable Times 5 is the proprietary metric of
  Interface Guru, based on hundreds of hours of
  usability lab testing
• OrientationWhere am I?
• PermissionDid I ask for that system
  response/popup/new screen?
• InteractivityWhat can I do here?
• RelevanceDoes this information matter to me?
• SpeedHow long will this take?

What can I do here?
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What is User Experience?
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How do I create Web content?

• How long does it take?
• It depends
• Do you want good content or bad content?
• Remember A Web site is a publication
• Not a junkyard

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Variables in estimating time

• Amount of content
• Complexity of content
• Functionality requirements
• Scheduling planning
• Preparation
• Human resources

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Many steps to creating content
Defining your Strategy -Objectives -Users -User
needs
Defining the scope -Functionality and content
requirements -Prioritizing the requirements
Defining the structure -Understanding creating
task paths -Planning your directory structure and
information architecture
Defining your Skeleton -Wireframing
And thats all before you even start to write
your content
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Killer Web Content

• By Gerry McGovern

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Killer content vs. filler content

• 90 of all content produced is filler.
• Focus on quality not quantity.
• Your challenge will be at least 50 easier if you
  get rid of 80-90 of your content.
• Everything you publish, needs to be maintained

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Killer Web Contents Six Cs
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Who Cares?

• People are overloaded with information
• They wont waste time reading content they dont
  care about
• Dont assume that because you care, your readers
  will too
• Think before you write will my readers care
  about this?

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Is it Compelling?

• People may care, but are they paying attention?
• You need to identify with your readers
• Use your users words, not internal lingo or
  acronyms
• talk to them, read their e-mails, use Google
  Trends

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Is it Clear?

• Be simple when you write if your content is not
  clear, you will lose readers.
• All acronyms should be spelled out upon first use
• Content should be internationally friendly
• People on your Web pages are scanning make it
  easy for them to find what they want.
• An innovation must be truly useful, otherwise
  its just eye candy.

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Is it Complete?

• Essence of any site is to help people complete a
  task
• If a call to action is made, be clear what steps
  should be taken
• Write great links to keep your readers moving
  from step to step so they can complete their tasks

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Is it Concise?

• Your Web site is not a murder mystery.
• Tell them who did it in the first paragraph.
• Help people quickly understand your content.
• Use bullets instead of paragraphs when possible.

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Is it Correct?

• Its easy to pull together content from other
  sources.
• Editing is quality control for writing.
• Check your facts, verify your numbers, make sure
  the content you provide is up-to-date.

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Web Writing vs. Print Writing

• When developing new Web content, you cannot
  simply migrate your old print content.
• Developing Web content often means writing
  completely new material.

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Know Your Audience

• Web readers generally do not read a page from
  start to finish.
• They scan sites for relevant information.
• Dont overload your readers with too much
  content, or else youll lose them.
• Word count for the Web should be about half of
  that for print.

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Six Elements of Good Web Writing

• Use titles, headings, subheadings, and summaries.
• Use lists.
• Be concise but make sure to provide details.
• Write newspaper style.
• Write links that dont have to be followed.
• Provide guidance on where to go/know your
  audience and its needs.

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Titles, Headings, and Summaries

• Titles and headings (often in bold) help your
  readers see your point without having to read the
  entire page.
• Summaries should alert your readers to the type
  of information and where it can be found.
• Be specific when creating titles no two pages
  should be titled alike.

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Using Lists

• Make sure your lists
• are easy to skim
• utilize short lines of text
• organize related links
• use proper punctuation
• make sense contextually.

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Be Concise but Detailed

• Make your writing short and concise save the
  details for those who want to learn more.
• Dont slow down the readers who just want to
  skim.
• One main point per paragraph/section.
• Links to more details as needed.

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Write Newspaper Style

• Use the inverted pyramid style when writing for
  the Web.
• Basic facts and conclusion should come first.
• Provide more details as you continue.
• Write your beginning last details first, then
  intro.

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Links Shouldnt Have to be Followed to be
Understood

• Let your readers decide whether or not to follow
  your links.
• Links serve as signposts make your links
  informational.
• Avoid teaser links with vague wording.
• Example
• Connect with your local IEEE section
• not Click here for more information.

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Guide Your Readers

• Web content has no page numbers show your
  reader where to go next.
• Provide guidance using links.
• Write in a style that leads your reader to the
  next logical page.
• Dont make your readers think.

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Web Accessibility

• http//www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/
• Ongoing process to make sure all sites in the
  IEEE Web presence adhere to accessibility rules
• Alt text
• Use of table
• Logical IA
• Usability tested

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Web Writing and Usability Resources

• Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox To subscribe, send
  blank e-mail to join-alertbox_at_laser.sparklist.com
  
• Gerry McGovern New Thinking Newsletter To
  subscribe, send e-mail to subscribe_at_gerrymcgovern
  .mailer1.net
• Adaptive Path Newsletter Subscribe
  at www.adaptivepath.com/publications/subscribe/
• Jared Spool's User Interface Engineering Tips
  Sign up at www.uie.com/uietips/
• Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition, by Patrick Lynch
  and Sarah Horton http//webstyleguide.com/
• Usable Web, 786 Links About Web Usability
  www.usableweb.com/
• Usability.gov, Guide for Developing Usable and
  Useful Web Sites www.usability.gov/

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IEEE Identity Standards

• Newly developed set of guidelines.
• Use of the standards is encouraged to help build
  consistent visual alignment among IEEE-related
  sites.
• Brand identity guidelines, color palette, look
  and feel, best practices, etc.
• Online soon, contact me for more information.

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IEEE Web Presence Style Guide

• http//www.ieee.org/go/web_presence_styleguide

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Questions? Comments?
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Thank You!

• Dan Bocchino
• d.bocchino_at_ieee.org