Due to the barriers caused by screen reading, readers generally prefer scanning online information rather than reading long blocks of text carefully or thoroughly. Writers can help readers by making their hypertext documents scannable. Scannable documents are easy to navigate and help readers find information with a minimum of time and effort.
To make your hypertext document scannable:
Create links that aid scanning.
Links stand out by virtue of being underlined and colored, so consider them highlighted words. Ideally, the links on your page should collectively offer context about what the page contains.
By carefully choosing which words to link, you can create scannable link text that helps readers skim your content.
Example: Creating scannable links
In the topic "Web and print resources," I created links from the descriptive titles of each Web resource, not the URLs. The linked titles stand out from the rest of the text and collectively offer context about the resources listed on this page. The text of linked URLs would have been less meaningful to readers.
Note: My preference is to leave out URLs in online documents (except for printer-friendly versions), but the reference list format for this publication requires them.
Write explanatory headings and page titles.
Your headings and page titles should be short, precise abstracts of their associated topic. Otherwise, imprecise wording can thwart readers from finding the information they seek.
To make your headings and page titles scannable:
Since readers can access your topic from different entry points, it is important that headings and page titles be able to stand alone. Remember that headings and page titles are often displayed out of context in search engine results lists or a browser's bookmark menu.
Even when context is supplied by surrounding text or graphics, the limitations of screen reading make that context less effective in giving readers cues about meaning.
Articles such as "the" and "an" are often unnecessary and merely clutter your headings and page titles.
Good examples: Effective headings and page titles
Overview of Main Street Bank's Financial Services
FAQ about Online Auctions
Australia Travel Guide
Bad examples: Less effective headings and page titles
Overview
FAQ
The Travel Guide for Visiting Australia
Highlight key words and phrases.
Emphasize important points by highlighting them. Bold or colored text usually works better than ALL CAPS.
In many instances, key words and phrases are turned into links that lead to additional information. Additional emphasis is unnecessary here.
Example: Highlighting key words and phrases
In this paper, I highlight key words and phrases by coloring the text red. I use this technique for the key words or phrases that do not stand out by other means. The color red works well with the overall color scheme of my pages.
For instance, in the topic "Why create links?" I highlight the phrases "two types of links" and "Use associative links to:". I also use the color red to highlight titles for my examples.
Note: Throughout this paper, I highlight most of my important points by making them separate items in bulleted lists. It is unnecessary to add more emphasis in these instances.
Restructure narrative text into bulleted lists, whenever possible.
Bulleted lists are ideal for hypertext documents because they highlight important information in a concise format that encourages scanning. Restructuring narrative text into bulleted lists does require careful thought and sometimes, additional details.
To create bulleted lists that facilitate scanning:
Include further explanation or supplementary details in a comment section under the bulleted item, as I do here.
Phrases are more scannable than complete sentences.
Before & After example: Breaking up narrative text into a bulleted list
Before: Narrative text with important information buried in paragraphs
The original version of this paper contained mostly narrative text that was chunked into short, self-contained topics. To make my text more scannable and reader-friendly, I broke it up into bulleted lists.
Here's how the topic "Screen Reading Problems" used to read:
Nielsen states that Web users do not read long blocks of text carefully or thoroughly (Allstetter, 1998). "Screen resolution is too low, too coarse, so the letters don't feel smooth to the eye," he says. "That slows down the eye when it tries to read the text."
In fact, studies show that reading from a screen is about 30% slower than reading from paper (Nielsen, 1995, p. 154). Since screens are smaller, granier, less portable, and more glaring than hardcopy, reading online also can be less convenient and cause eyestrain (Horton, 1994, p. 11).
Moreover, processing text online requires spatial and relational processing abilities (Wenger & Payne, 1996). Thus, designers need to consider rhetorical issues differently than they would for conventional texts.
In too many cases, documents were never designed for the screen and simply dumped online (Schriver, 1997). Such documents can become unreadable and therefore inaccessible for readers.
After: Bulleted list that highlights important points and makes the text more scannable
For the present version of the topic "Screen Reading Problems," I restructured the narrative text into eight bulleted items and placed details under some items when I had more to say about them. The present version does include a few additional points, but the two texts contain essentially the same information.
Note: Whenever possible, include no more than seven items in a bulleted list. As I found, exceptions to this guideline are sometimes unavoidable.
Use a site map or online index.
A site map or online index can help readers quickly find what they need. Kevin Broccoli’s (1998) Contentious article “Indexes: An old tool for a new medium” offers helpful advice on online indexing.
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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.