Letting Go of the Words

Writing Web Content that Works

Janice (Ginny) Redish

• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
• Year: 2012
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9780123859310
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Computer Science General
• Index: Computer Science

Web site design and development continues to become more sophisticated. An important part of this maturity originates with well-laid-out and well-written content. Ginny Redish is a world-renowned expert on information design and how to produce clear writing in plain language for the web. All of the invaluable information that she shared in the first edition is included with numerous new examples. New information on content strategy for web sites, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media make this once again the only book you need to own to optimize your writing for the web. - New material on content strategy, search engine optimization, and social media - Lots of new and updated examples - More emphasis on new hardware like tablets, iPads, and iPhones

1

Content! Content! Content!

The theme of this book is content = conversation. My goal is to help you have great conversations through your web site, mobile app, social media, and whatever future innovations encourage interactions between you and others.

People come for the content

People don’t come to web sites or mobile apps or social media for the joy of navigating or searching. They don’t usually come to admire the design. They don’t focus on the technology. They come for the content that they think (or hope) is there.

People come for information that answers their question or helps them complete their task. They want that information to be easy to find, easy to understand, accurate, up to date, and credible.

Content = conversation

Every use of your web site or mobile app is a conversation started by your site visitor.

That’s true whether your site or app is for e-commerce; a nonprofit organization; a government agency; a university; a city, county, state, or country; a recommender system; or your personal blog or site.

Yesterday, I

• looked up the same health question on three different sites to build confidence that I was getting an answer I could trust

• bought a book for my daughter

• compared prices for a new printer for the office

• skimmed hotel reviews for a trip my husband and I are planning

• sent a huge file through an online service

In each case, the most productive way to think about what I was doing is as a conversation.

We converse both by talking and by writing. You may text others more often than you call them. You’re still conversing with them.

www.yousendit.com

Yesterday, I also

• tweeted about my next workshop

• checked my Twitter stream to see what others were saying

• caught up with a former colleague through LinkedIn

• participated in a global committee meeting on Skype

• read a few of my favorite blogs

Isn’t social media all about conversations?

Do you react well when web sites and mobile apps converse with you? I do. Figure 1-1 is the message I get when I leave my Twitter stream open but get caught up in my work.

Figure 1-1 A conversational message from the site I use to read and send tweets

www.hootsuite.com

Web = phone, not file cabinet

Too many sites still seem to be virtual file cabinets, saying to site visitors, “We’ll let you rummage around in our file cabinets because we assume you are looking for documents.” “File cabinet” is the wrong metaphor for most web sites.

Web = phone (whether you use it for voice or for texting). Web = asking people to serve themselves instead of calling or writing.

File cabinets house documents. We use phones to converse. People seldom come to web sites for documents. They come for information. They come because they have questions. And they are happiest when the web site answers those questions.

To create great web content, you must

• understand the conversations your site visitors want to have with your web site or your app

• satisfy those conversations

• engage your site visitors enough to make them want to continue in the site or app and come back again

• meet your business goals (whether your goal is to sell stuff, to be the major source of information on your topic, or to get more members for your organization)

Online, people skim and scan

Most site visitors are very ...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Praise for Letting Go of the Words
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introducing Letting Go of the Words
• 1. Content! Content! Content!
• 2. Planning
• Interlude 1. Content Strategy
• 3. Designing for Easy Use
• 4. Starting Well
• 5. Getting There
• 6. Breaking up and Organizing Content
• 7. Focusing on Conversations and Key Messages
• Interlude 2. Finding Marketing Moments
• 8. Announcing Your Topic with a Clear Headline
• 9. Including Useful Headings
• Interlude 3. The New Life of Press Releases
• 10. Tuning up Your Sentences
• 11. Using Lists and Tables
• Interlude 4. Legal Information Can Be Clear
• 12. Writing Meaningful Links
• 13. Using Illustrations Effectively
• 14. Getting from Draft to Final
• Interlude 5. Creating an Organic Style Guide
• 15. Test! Test! Test!
• For More Information – A Bibliography
• Subject Index
• Index of Web Sites Shown as Examples
• About Ginny Redish