Okay, imagine you’re on a trip and every sign you come across, instead of indicating “Turn Here,” has a two-paragraph explanation of exactly what to do. It describes the radius of the turn, the precise speed at which the turn should be approached, and so forth.
Now imagine your website as a road. What directions are you giving your visitors? Are you getting them from point A to point B quickly and effectively? Too often, websites are filled with verbose copy that will never be read. So in an effort to get our websites in shape we need to trim the fat.
Don’t write too much. People won’t read it.
A study by Jakob Nielsen found that people read only 20 to 28 percent of the content on a webpage. And they read only 50 percent of the words on a webpage that has 111 words or fewer. If you write tons of text, don’t expect anyone ever to read it. Since people don’t read in depth on the web, we need to use techniques that promote easy scanning of pages so users can find what they are looking for.
Use subheads and bold text. They are scanned more easily.
You just did it. You scanned this blog quickly and are now reading this text. If you weren’t interested in having people scan pages, you could easily have skipped this section. Research shows that people scan pages for topics that interest them. Subheads and bold text help break copy up and highlight content so it’s easier to scan.
Start with the ending. Put your most important points at the top.
Since most visitors won’t get down to the end of that paragraph you’ve written, why put your most important ideas at the bottom? Start your paragraph with your conclusion and then provide the details to support it.
Use labels.
Don’t focus only on the written words. Focus on how the design helps the visitor scan the page more easily. Use labels at the tops of blocks of copy to highlight what each block of copy represents. Is it a case study? Is it a set of instructions? Do you want your users to complete a task? Let them know with small labels or directions.
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