I'm not going to read it all

[wenwilder]

When a surfer runs across your page only 16% of them actually stop and read ALL of the text.

I tried an experiment and discovered that I am one of the 79% that just scans the page. Having said that, I also discovered a lot of websites aren't 'scanner' friendly.

People notice headings and sub-headings faster than any other part of the text, except bold faced text - which immediately catches the eye. Red text and yellow text are also highly noticeable but can cause headaches.

sub-headings need to be meaningful, not clever, in order to get a person to stop and read the accompanying text. Bulleted lists get our attention quickly as well.

One idea per paragraph helps, just make the first few words count! If the first few words don't catch a persons attention they are not likely to read the rest.

Highlighted keywords are attention grabbers. Hypertext links and slight changes in coloring, even italicizing helps.

"Users detested "marketese"; the promotional writing style with boastful subjective claims ("hottest ever") currently prevalent on the Web. Web users are busy: they want to get the straight facts. Also, credibility suffers when users clearly see the site exaggerates." - Jakob Nielsen

Do you think your site is 'scannable'? Should it be scanner friendly?

[Narasinha]

My personal web site is compsed mostly of genealogical information. Most people find my site through Google and start off at a page containing a name for which they were searching. In general, these pages have data presented in a standardized manner so people can see pertinent information immediately.

As we were discussing in another forum, most web designers are not professional writers, but could certainly benefit from learning more about writing style and composition.

I think headings are often overused and improperly used. If you write an outline for your text (if your text is lengthy enough to warrant one) you should see the points where headings and subheadings would be beneficial. This heirarchical outline and use of headings is helpful to readers looking for specific information but not intent on reading your full text.

Text style changes are helpful in identifying certain words or phrases. Though [b] and [i] are not acceptable in strict HTML standards, content identification like [b] and [i] work to take their place. The [b] tag is usually represented in a browser by bold text, and the [i] (emphasized) tag by italicized text. Screen readers that take into account these tags can place special emphasis on the words. Colored text or changes in background color are very helpful, but sometimes overused. Good contrast between text and background is essential. Being consistent throughout your site with the use of these "attention-grabbers" is very important.

For commercial sites it is often suggested to write for the "least common denominator". I have frequently heard it mentioned that newspapers articles are written at a sixth-grade reading level. Keep your target audience in mind when composing your text.

[wenwilder]

I think headings are often overused and improperly used.

You bring up a lot of really good points but this one caught my eye. Headings are important to get people to stick around and read further. The way the headings are phrased, whether they are a question or make a statement all makes a difference.

The "marketese" headings are the ones that potential clients/customers skim but don't pay much attention too. Whether they're bolded, blinking, animated or bolded and italicized the words make the difference.

This does run along the same lines as psychological triggers (http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=8386). You want psychological triggers applied to the headings of pages. The subheadings aren't that important but they should be emphasized in some way so they can be easily scanned/skimmed.

Your suggestion to write an outline is a great idea and I'm glad you posted that in your reply. Some people write the outline and then forget to use sub-headings. It's also a great way to appear credible to viewers, because you've taken the time to put thought into your site.

What about having one idea per paragraph, how do you think that makes a difference?

[Narasinha]

What about having one idea per paragraph, how do you think that makes a difference?

It seems to me that one basic idea per paragraph is a good idea. Mixing up your thoughts within a block of text is ditracting to the reader. Keeping things in discrete "containers" like a paragraph is also helpful to those skimming your text to find something specific. The first line of a paragraph should give a good indication of its content. If I'm searching for information about weather patterns in the South Pacific in an article about global weather patterns, I'm going to look for South Pacific in either a heading, subheading, or the top of a paragraph. Of course, using the "find in page" search comes in handy for that type of thing as well.

That brings up another idea that probably belongs in one of the Google or general search engine forums here. Looking through the referrer text for my web site, I am able to see the search terms used to find my page. This information, combined with the subject of questions I have seen posted here and elsewhere, leads me to the conclusion that a great number of people don't know how to use the search engines well. Yes, they found my site, but was it what they were really looking for? Several times I have answered questions posted here by entering a couple words or phrases into Google and finding the answer in the first few results. It just seems odd to me that they either didn't search for an answer, or didn't know how to search for an answer.

[wenwilder]

Several times I have answered questions posted here by entering a couple words or phrases into Google and finding the answer in the first few results. It just seems odd to me that they either didn't search for an answer, or didn't know how to search for an answer.

I'm going to get off topic here, but when you do your search do you use the "quotation" method or the + method? I know google is one of the best search engines to use a boolean search string on.

I'm always curious as to how people search online. I would definately have to agree with your observation about people not knowing how to do a search. I have friends and family that call me to do an online search for them, even though they could do it themselves.

What do you think is the best way to perform a search?

[Narasinha]

I'm going to get off topic here, but when you do your search do you use the "quotation" method or the + method? I know google is one of the best search engines to use a boolean search string on.

I'm always curious as to how people search online. I would definately have to agree with your observation about people not knowing how to do a search. I have friends and family that call me to do an online search for them, even though they could do it themselves.

What do you think is the best way to perform a search?

I always use a plus sign in front of each search term. If I wanted to find pages without that term, I wouldn't have it in there in the first place. :) I always put quotes around any term that is more than one word or contains non-alphabetic characters. In viewing search terms used to find my site, I notice that rarely are either of these used. Also, it is handy to use a minus before a search term in some cases. Once in a while I will get a large number of results that definitely don't contain what I'm looking for. Usually they will pertain to a specific subject which I can exclude with the minus sign. The advanced options on Google, such as searching specific sites, etc. are helpful, but most people don't know anything about them.

[wenwilder]

I always use a plus sign in front of each search term. If I wanted to find pages without that term, I wouldn't have it in there in the first place. :) I always put quotes around any term that is more than one word or contains non-alphabetic characters. In viewing search terms used to find my site, I notice that rarely are either of these used. Also, it is handy to use a minus before a search term in some cases. Once in a while I will get a large number of results that definitely don't contain what I'm looking for. Usually they will pertain to a specific subject which I can exclude with the minus sign. The advanced options on Google, such as searching specific sites, etc. are helpful, but most people don't know anything about them.

This would be a great topic for a new thread. :)

Back to the scannable text.........I was re-reading my orginal post and wanted to add a comment on: Highlighted keywords are attention grabbers. If you use highlighted keywords make sure the paragraph actually has to something to do with the keyword. It is annoying to me to find what I think I am looking for and discover that all I've found is a highlighted word.

I have an experiment going on my website right now dealing with the bolding of specific words - I'm anxious to see how it goes. But that is another story all together. :)