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Thread: URL's for writing for the web
Number of posts in this thread: 13 (In chronological order)
From: Gary Williamson
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 4:10AM
Subject: URL's for writing for the web
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Generator Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium) Does anyone have some good URLs for Writing for the web with an emphasis on accessibility?
thanks
Gary
From: Patrick Lauke
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 5:30AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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> Gary Williamson
> Does anyone
> have some good URLs for Writing for the web with an emphasis
> on accessibility?
> thanks
Maybe I haven't had enough coffee yet this morning, but one of the things I ranted to my colleague about recently: the whole "writing for the web" idea is looking at the issue from the wrong angle.
You always hear things like "on the web, people only skim read" and "on the web, people don't want lengthy marketing blurb and waffle, just the facts", "on the web, people's attention span is short ... blah blah ... your competitor's site is only one click away" etc.
JUST on the web? Does this not apply to ANY communication medium? If I do a leaflet, are the considerations not exactly the same? And is it not a huge generalisation to say that all reading online is done in exactly the same way? Of course, it depends on what the user/reader is actually trying to achieve...not that he/she happens to be doing it "on the web".
So, instead of specific "for the web" courses, there should be "good writing...full stop" courses.
Writing needs to be appropriate for the audience's expectations and needs, regardless of what medium it's delivered in. If I read a tabloid newspaper, I also "skim read", for instance. And on some sites, depending on what content I'm actually looking for, I'm quite prepared NOT to skim read, but to actually read it thoroughly, despite the usual adage of "people will print it if it's long, because paper has better contrast". Rubbish, a crude generalisation! Even if it's a long text, I often read it on screen as I can quickly cross-reference things, open up different windows, fire off a wikipedia search, etc...unless I need to read it without extraneous distractions such as emails popping in, or it's actually an immersive piece of fiction or something. Again, it's about the nature of the text and my intentions/expectations, not about the medium.
As for accessibility and writing, again I'd say that it's the same, regardless of medium (be it "for the web" or for print etc):
- Clear, simple language.
- Active rather than passive whenever appropriate.
- Short sentences usually preferable to big, long, convoluted, triple nested sentences (think Hemmingway)
- Don't string up big convoluted sentences with semicolons (one of George Orwell's pet hate, apparently).
- Avoid overuse of parenthetical sections in your sentences - if it's not necessary, then don't put it in in the first place.
- Use bulleted/numbered lists liberally, whenever appropriate.
- Don't use big words unnecessarily when small simple words do the job just as well.
- Logically break up your text into easily digestible chunks.
- Use headings liberally to provide good "landing points" for a reader to skip to (while visually scanning, or - if using screen readers etc - through keyboard navigation).
- Avoid idiomatic sentences, slang, colloquialisms, specialist terminology that may not make any sense to somebody whose cultural, social, etc background may be different (e.g. international students, somebody not from that particular specialist area, etc).
- Avoid overuse of acronyms and abbreviations that make the text more impenetrable.
... to name but a few ...
Right, off to get caffeine...
P
From: Christian Heilmann
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 5:50AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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> Generator Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium) Does anyone have some good URLs for Writing for the web with an emphasis on accessibility?
> thanks
I got an older presentation on that, check out the PDF for some inspiration:
http://icant.co.uk/articles/writing_for_web.pdf
--
Chris Heilmann
Book: http://www.beginningjavascript.com
Blog: http://www.wait-till-i.com
Writing: http://icant.co.uk/
From: Alastair Campbell
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 6:00AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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Patrick Lauke wrote:
"Avoid idiomatic sentences"
I had to look up idiomatic the first time I read WCAG 2, which is fairly
ironic ;)
Kind regards,
-Alastair
--
Alastair Campbell | Director of User Experience
Nomensa Email Disclaimer:
http://www.nomensa.com/email-disclaimer.html
From: Patrick Lauke
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 6:20AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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> Christian Heilmann
> I got an older presentation on that, check out the PDF for
> some inspiration:
>
> http://icant.co.uk/articles/writing_for_web.pdf
See, that's what I mean...
"Web surfers are not followers, they are doers. Much like TV spectators during an ad break."
"The web is probably the fastest of all media - anything that demands
too much attention to details from readers is too slow and not worth
the effort."
A generalisation...depends on context, on the user's expectations, etc.
For instance, I can quite happily read a lengthy, yet well written wikipedia entry, if I'm interested in the subject. This would, of course, be different if I came to that entry looking for one specific fact...then I'd get frustrated if I couldn't find it right away.
Just be mindful of context...otherwise it's a slippery slope towards other generalisations like "every page is only maximum 2 clicks away from the homepage" or "users can't cope with more than 7 +/- 2 links in the navigation"...
"Hardly any web surfer has one browser instance open and no other distractions"
"...time still appears to be money"
"Instead of reading whole texts, readers on the web tend to "scan" pages; looking for keywords."
"Text for the web needs to be simple, straight to the point and easy to understand - even outside the current context"
"Deal with one topic in each paragraph, don't change the subject within the paragraph"
"Don't be too creative - web users don't like guessing what you mean."
"Expln abrvtns & acrnms, especially TLAs"
Same thing happens with newspapers, magazines, leaflets, etc...so not specifically a web problem. As I said, this is a "good writing" list for any medium, not just the web. Unless we're dealing with fiction/literature, these rules are good for any sort of non-fiction/marketing/informational copy.
P
From: Phil Teare
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 6:30AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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I didn't read your post Patrick. Was a bit long...
(sorry ;)
Re idiomatic, yes! It's another one word contradiction. Like 'ineffable'.
I think you've got a good point Patrick. Essentially the web now contains
all formats of language, so just like print, you have to asses you audience.
If you're writing any form of public information meant to be accessible to a
demographic, try to make sure its language and styling is accessible to all
that demographic. The broader your target audience, the more this effects
the language that can be used without disadvantaging a significant portion
of it. I'd say...
--
Phil Teare,
Technical Director & Lead Developer,
http://www.talklets.com from Textic Ltd.
(44) [0] 77 68479904
From: Christian Heilmann
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 8:40AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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On 2/16/07, Patrick Lauke < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> > Christian Heilmann
>
> > I got an older presentation on that, check out the PDF for
> > some inspiration:
> >
> > http://icant.co.uk/articles/writing_for_web.pdf
>
> See, that's what I mean...
<?php include 'laukerant.inc';?>
All valid points, however this presentation lead a team of editors to
start writing content that we didn't have to flag up in bug reports as
"accessibility issue" and cut down on the general blabla of the site.
A few generalisms are not dangerous when it comes to talking to people
who have been tasked to write for a media they just don't grasp. It is
a good idea to consider the audience and how much time they are
willing to spend on changing their ways and this is where a few "this
is how it is" make more sense then "oh, we should change ALL the media
that way". When you work in agencies then you are lucky to get content
beyond the posters and leaflets to work from.
From: Patrick Lauke
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 9:00AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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> <?php include 'laukerant.inc';?>
Yup, that's the one...
Sorry, wasn't meant as a specific attack on you/your presentation. Absolutely, sometimes we have to make those generalisations to get the point across and not appear to overstep our remit etc.
I'm just a grumpy old sod. :)
P
From: John Foliot - Stanford Online Accessibility Program
Date: Fri, Feb 16 2007 9:40AM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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Patrick Lauke wrote:
>> <?php include 'laukerant.inc';?>
>
> Yup, that's the one...
>
> I'm just a grumpy old sod. :)
...who apparently has either:
A) not had enough coffee
B) needs to switch to Decaf
(not sure which though...)
However, the key thrust - clear communication transcends mediums - remains
true.
Have a great weekend
JF
From: Philip Kiff
Date: Sat, Feb 17 2007 1:00PM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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Patrick Lauke wrote on 16 February 2007 07:25 EST:
>> Does anyone have some good URLs for Writing for the web with an
>> emphasis on accessibility? thanks
>
> [....]JUST on the web? Does this not apply to ANY communication medium? If
> I do a leaflet, are the considerations not exactly the same?
> [....]
> So, instead of specific "for the web" courses, there should be "good
> writing...full stop" courses.
I agree with the general notion that good writing is always a question of
context, and that therefore it would be valuable to teach good communication
writing generally. However, there are a couple writing strategies that I
think come close to being specific to the web. These techniques relate to
the elements of the web that are specific to that medium: namely the
hyperlink, and linkable/machine-readable page structures. I have not seen a
good list of all of these written down anywhere in one place, and perhaps
the ones I list below are incomplete or incorrect, but there I think there
IS some kind of need for some short, web-specific writing guidelines.
Some suggestions then:
1. Hyperlinked text should be understandable when taken out of context in
order to facilitate skimming of links
(This is something that aids both visual and screen-reader users, but that
has no meaning for print writing. In print, one might choose specific words
to emphasize by colour/boldface/underlining, but it is not necessary for
such emphasized text to make sense when taken out of context.)
2. Sentences and phrases should be structured so that hyperlinks are located
at the end of the phrase where their context is provided.
(So, for instance, rather than saying: "The [url]Accessible Writing
Guidelines[/url] from organization ABC describe the best methods of writing
for the web by including recommendations for specific grammatical structures
as well as generalizations that apply to any good communications writing."
[Okay, that sentence is too long, but it will serve as an example in this
case]. An improved sentence structure for the web would be: "Organization
ABC provides guidelines on the best methods of writing for the web,
including recommendations for specific grammatical structures as well as
generalizations that apply to any good communications writing, in their
publication: [url]Accessible Writing Guidelines[/url]." The theory behind
this sentence-link-order recommendation is that because screen reader users
must listen to the sentence in a linear fashion, if you provide the link
before providing the context, then they may have to back up in their reading
process in order to access the link. Whereas if you provide the link at the
end of the relevant sentence, then when they hear the link notification
sound, they should already know enough about the link to decide whether they
want to access it or not. In a more general way, this simply takes
advantage of natural positions of emphasis, like any writing does. But in
standard, printed text, there is a natural position of emphasis at the
beginning of a sentence as well as at the end, and in the case of
hyperlinked (web) text, I am suggesting that it is preferable to tend
towards positioning such links (emphases) only in the latter positions.)
3. Headings and Titles should be chosen so that they include key words
related to their subject matter and they should be written so that their
subject matter is explained simply.
(Again, this is something that is not necessary in print or other mediums.
It is normal in much writing to create headings or titles that are evocative
and that contain some kind of hook, but it is not normal, except in "plain
language" writings, to expect that headings and titles be fully
self-explanatory. However, in order for some users to effectively "skim"
pages using headings, those headings should be self-explanatory, more than
playful, in most contexts.)
4. Links, Headings, and Title text should be selected so that they begin
with unique words, and in some cases, those words should begin with unique
letters as well.
(This assists with skimming the page or site using links-only,
headings-only, or titles-only reading modes. Users do not have to listen to
repeated words at the beginning of each heading/title/link in order to
differentiate it from other links. And in the case of navigation menu links
and other key sets of headings on a page, selecting words that begin with
different letters allows some users to jump directly to the menu/heading
link by accessing lists of links sorted alphabetically. On pages where each
key link begins with a different letter, a skilled screen-reader user could
jump directly to that link on each page with only one or two keystrokes.
Phil.
From: smithj7
Date: Mon, Feb 19 2007 3:40PM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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Very nice article. :)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christian Heilmann" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] URL's for writing for the web
>> Generator Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium) Does anyone have some good
>> URLs for Writing for the web with an emphasis on accessibility?
>> thanks
>
> I got an older presentation on that, check out the PDF for some
> inspiration:
>
> http://icant.co.uk/articles/writing_for_web.pdf
>
> --
> Chris Heilmann
> Book: http://www.beginningjavascript.com
> Blog: http://www.wait-till-i.com
> Writing: http://icant.co.uk/
>
From: Jon Gunderson
Date: Mon, Feb 19 2007 3:50PM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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Here are some accessibility best practices for creating Office documents:
http://www.accessiblewizards.uiuc.edu/bestpractices.php
---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:38:47 -0500
>From: < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>Subject: Re: [WebAIM] URL's for writing for the web
>To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>
>Very nice article. :)
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Christian Heilmann" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 7:44 AM
>Subject: Re: [WebAIM] URL's for writing for the web
>
>
>>> Generator Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium) Does anyone have some good
>>> URLs for Writing for the web with an emphasis on accessibility?
>>> thanks
>>
>> I got an older presentation on that, check out the PDF for some
>> inspiration:
>>
>> http://icant.co.uk/articles/writing_for_web.pdf
>>
>> --
>> Chris Heilmann
>> Book: http://www.beginningjavascript.com
>> Blog: http://www.wait-till-i.com
>> Writing: http://icant.co.uk/
>>
From: smithj7
Date: Tue, Feb 20 2007 4:30PM
Subject: Re: URL's for writing for the web
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Kinda of off topic... specific question based on suggested reading...
I can't figure out how to get the language code to export. I used word
properties and customized and the wizard doesn't recognize the EN-US. Is
there some place in the orginal word doc that one could put it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Gunderson" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] URL's for writing for the web
> Here are some accessibility best practices for creating Office documents:
>
> http://www.accessiblewizards.uiuc.edu/bestpractices.php
>
> ---- Original message ----
>>Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:38:47 -0500
>>From: < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>>Subject: Re: [WebAIM] URL's for writing for the web
>>To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>>
>>Very nice article. :)
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Christian Heilmann" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>>To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>>Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 7:44 AM
>>Subject: Re: [WebAIM] URL's for writing for the web
>>
>>
>>>> Generator Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium) Does anyone have some
>>>> good
>>>> URLs for Writing for the web with an emphasis on accessibility?
>>>> thanks
>>>
>>> I got an older presentation on that, check out the PDF for some
>>> inspiration:
>>>
>>> http://icant.co.uk/articles/writing_for_web.pdf
>>>
>>> --
>>> Chris Heilmann
>>> Book: http://www.beginningjavascript.com
>>> Blog: http://www.wait-till-i.com
>>> Writing: http://icant.co.uk/
>>>