Use a clickable table of contents to organize your material.
A table of contents allows you to clarify the internal relationships among topics. It also allows the reader to repeatedly review the document's overall structure and available topics. This review helps readers retain proper orientation within your document.
According to Mark Bernstein (1991), "The centripetal tendencies of central organizing nodes (topics) are balanced by the centrifugal force of the reader’s curiosity" (p. 44). Thus, when readers browse through a dense hypertext network, they "naturally" spend most of their time exploring the document’s periphery.
Tutorial and reference works in particular can exploit these forces by offering a rich array of connections (Bernstein, 1991).
Example: Clickable table of contents
Great Outdoor Recreation Pages offers readers a detailed yet very usable clickable table of contents. It lists outdoor resources for people with disabilities by highlighting key words for the link text (such as Delaware Water Gap and Hiking at Oregon Dunes) and then briefly describing each resource.
The links on the left of the screen serve as an additional table of contents for links under topics such as outdoor interests, discussion boards, and interacting with experts.
Provide substantive content, not merely a list of links to other
sites.
Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton (1997) caution against creating Web pages that resemble tables of contents or resource bibliographies, neither of which can "replace real commentary, analysis, [nor] sustained rational argument" (p. 115).
A well-organized, annotated list of links can increase the value of the document. However, the document should still offer substantive content beyond links.
Links should reinforce your message, not replace it.
Use lists of links instead of links embedded in the text, whenever
possible.
At least one study suggests that searching a list of links rather than a paragraph with embedded links reduces the processing demands of reading and link extraction (Kahn and Locatis, 1998).
When you create a list of links, annotate each link so readers can decide which, if any, to traverse.
Before & After example: Using a list of links
Before: Links embedded in the text
Our programs concentrate on species, forests, protected areas, marine and freshwaters; plus habitats affected by climate change such as polar regions. We also address the relationship between trade and the environment and the wider aspects of biodiversity assessment.
After: Links presented in a bulleted list
Our programs concentrate on:
We also address:
Place external links in a section outside of the primary text.
Consider putting most or all external links in their own section or page. This strategy gives readers one-click access to valuable resources while hopefully delaying their departure from your document.
Open a new browser window for links to external sites, if appropriate.
This strategy makes it easier for readers to return to your document. You might consider using this strategy for external links embedded in your text. It might not be appropriate for a list of external links placed outside of the primary text.
Sample code to open a new browser window
In the following HTML code, TARGET="_blank" opens a new browser window when the reader clicks on the link for Denver Zoo Online.
<A HREF="http://www.denverzoo.org/main.htm" TARGET="_blank">Denver Zoo Online</A>
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Last Updated: May 2, 2001
(c)2000 by Alysson Troffer. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce or redistribute any material from this document, in whole or in part, without written permission.