Web Design Tutorial & Website Development Tips

Page Content: The Long and the Short of It
By Lee Underwood
Published: 3 February, 2007

Printed Media vs. the Web

Why doesn't it seem to work? There are many reasons for this. Some are easy enough to understand, others are not. Staring at a computer screen for hours trying to read a document can be tedious and difficult. Much of that has to do with the size of the screen, the resolution, and the colors and fonts used on the Web page. Different studies have shown that people read 25% slower from computer screens than from printed media. In fact, most people do not actually read on the Web; rather they tend to scan pages looking for headings or trying to pick out words that draw their attention. 79% of online readers usually always scan, while only 16% read each word.

Because of this tendency to scan, readers on the Web prefer writing that is concise, direct, and to the point. Instead of saying "While Austin-Martin has made some great automobiles in the past, we can only recommend Rolls Royce at this time", say "We would currently recommend Rolls Royce over Austin Martin." The online reader is scanning the page to find what he needs and if he doesn't find it, he will go to the next page or — dare I say it — to the next Web site.

A good basic rule to use when writing content for the Web is to use 50% less than what would be used in printed media. In dissecting a printed article, much of it is found to be just "fluff" anyway. Let's face it. The initial "thrill" of the Internet and World Wide Web is just about gone. We are now settling into the daily reality of using it as another tool to make our lives "better". We use the Web instead of going to the local library (although we may go there online) because it is faster and we can usually find what we need. Instead of grabbing the Yellow Pages, we just check the company's Web site. If they don't have one, we find a company that does. Instead of playing computer games by myself, I can play online with literally thousands of people at the same time. Read a good book review online? Jump on over to your favorite bookseller's Web site and you can order it and have it within 1-2 days, some you can even download immediately. We have become used to having information relayed to us quickly. We don't need the "fluff" ... "Just the facts, ma'am."

Keeping paragraphs short can help to facilitate the process of scanning. The material is easier to read when it is broken up into small chunks. Highlighting key words and phrases using bold and/or italics also adds to the ease of reading the document. Highlighting should be done sparingly, using it to bring out an important point within a paragraph. Too much emphasizing just marks up the document and makes it hard to read. The use of links can also be an aid to the reader. Providing links from key words or phrases to relevant Web pages can help to broaden the reader's experience and enhance the material. This too, however, should be done sparingly.

Page Length

Another important topic of Web page content is page length. Should the article be all on one page or should it be broken into several smaller pages? What are the advantages and disadvantages of one over the other?

One of the criticisms of using several smaller pages is that it is an excuse to get more page hits and banner impressions. While this may be true in some cases, if the page presentation is not comfortable to the online reader, he will just go to the next Web site. Online readers don't have any incentive to stay on a site that is uncomfortable and hard to read. Unlike having to leave a store, get into your car, and drive to another store, on the Web it just takes a second to go to the next site. While you may like to believe that you alone have the truth — which may be the case — if the reader is annoyed while trying to read it, he may go somewhere else before he is able to learn whether it is actually the truth or not. While you may be paid for every page hit and/or banner click, if you are not able to get and keep customers, you won't be very successful no matter what the size of the pages.

The size of the page can be determined by several factors, some of which are: the particular content of your documents; whether the reader is expected to browse the content online, or to download the documents for later reading; and the bandwidth available to your target audience (Yale Style Manual). Let's look at these factors one at a time.

The Particular Content of Your Documents

Web page content covers the entire spectrum. Everything you can imagine can be found on the World Wide Web — from basic cooking recipes to how to build a world-class hotel; from information on how to remove a grass stain to instructions on how to assemble an atomic bomb; from a personal Web page to the complete works of the world's greatest composers and authors; from the latest soap opera gossip to the most recent flying saucer landings — it is all there for our perusal.

Should all of this be presented in the same manner? The answer, I think, is obvious — no. The personal Web page can be as simple as one main page and a couple other pages linked to it.

Information on the most recent flying saucer landings would best be broken down into sub-categories, i.e. type of encounter (the first kind, second kind, third kind, etc.), site of landing (listed by city and country), time of sighting (day or night), type of craft (round, oval, large, small), type of aliens (big, little, mean, nice, green, blue), etc. I think you get the point. This is something that cannot be categorized in general terms.

You should know your reader and what he expects from the information on your site. Then make it easy for him to find it. In the personal Web page example, a reader probably wouldn't be searching for all that much information. Yet, the visitor to the UFO site would probably want to know as much detail as possible. Just don't make him search through a very long Web page to find it. Divide it up into smaller ones that are easier to digest.

Many times the very nature of the subject matter covered by a Web site dictates whether its content is best viewed on or offline. Most online news sites are generally best viewed online. The material is usually presented in short, concise stories and the reader is able to jump to the particular pages that interest him. On the other hand, reading a 30-page dissertation on molecular activity in the midst of an atomic blast is probably best viewed offline, perhaps even printed-out.

Remembering what we said earlier regarding the way most readers scan Web pages instead of reading, common sense would be the best judge as to the way in which the material is presented. There are many options in this area: the material could be presented on a series of Web pages divided into logical sub-topics; the information could be offered in a .PDF file for formal presentation; it could also be offered in a Microsoft Word file and/or text file for downloading.

Available Bandwidth

Bandwidth is " the amount of data transferred over a set amount of time." Much of this is the speed of the connection the user has to the Internet. As of December 2000, 59.4% of U.S. home users had an Internet connection of 56K, while only 12% had a high speed connection, i.e. cable or DSL (Cyber Atlas). It is important to know who your visitors will be. While it is not possible to be completely accurate, usually, with a little time and investigation, you will have a pretty good picture. One place for finding statistical information about the Internet is CyberAtlas.

If your site requires a large amount of graphics (i.e. art history), then finding ways of compressing and viewing the graphics along with the text while not hogging all of the bandwidth will be a major consideration. Another consideration is using thumbnails to free up bandwidth.

Even text without graphics has a limit. Most visitors will not wait while a Web page containing an entire college physics textbook loads into memory. However, if the textbook were divided into smaller segments (i.e. chapters and headings with a table of contents) then it would be tolerable.

Conclusion

The Web is composed of many different types of documents. Some of them are long, some short, some are highly technical, and others are just plain simple. In the same manner, many factors determine the size of the Web page. In some cases, presentation of a single idea on each page is sufficient; in other cases one page may cover many topics.

It�s one thing if you're just going for page hits or banner impressions. But if you are actually trying to present information that your visitors will use and cause them to return to your site, then page content and size is an important matter to consider.

Remember; be concise, direct, and to the point. Use 50% of what you would use in printed media. Keep in mind your reader is most likely scanning the page for the information he needs and is not concerned with your "expressive style." Many times what works best is quick, bite-sized chucks of information. USAToday found this out when it began. It was ridiculed when it first debuted because of the "bite-sized chucks" of news. Except for the cover story, most articles are not continued on another page. The particular story is covered with a minimum of details. It must be an example of what many people want as it now has one of the largest circulations of all major newspapers in the United States.

Many topics, however, do not lend themselves to such "bite-sized chucks". That is where the job of content presentation and management comes in. Know your visitors. If in doubt, ask them.