Module 3 – WWW Standards

I believe the 5 most important “rules” for writing online are:

1. Planning
There’s not much good writing if what you want to write isn’t planned. That’s the same for online and offline, and isn’t only confined to the words. The format and outline of the page need to be planned, as well as breaks in the text, pictures, colours and fonts. If your page isn’t inviting to look at in the first instance, most users will not stay to read what you have written.

2. Simple Text
Use simple text that can be understood by the greatest number of users. Keep your words and concepts fairly simple to keep the attention of the maximum number of visitors.

3. KISS (Keep It Stunningly Simple)
Keep your page simple. Having too many things flashing and moving on your page distracts from reading the text. Some pages in the various national news sites are guilty of not keeping their pages simple. When someone is reading the news, particularly a story that isn’t funny, they don’t want advertisements flashing and pictures changing while they’re trying to read the text. The more things move and flash on your page, the shorter the time that people will actually spend on your site.

4. Spelling and Grammar
Check your spelling and grammar. Unless you’re writing an English thesis, most people will forgive “spoken” grammar – grammar that sounds normal when it is spoken out loud. However, a lot of people won’t forgive simple words being misspelled, words and phrases being misused and the “accent” of the page changing every few sentences. If you start your page in US English, keep it there, don’t change part way through to UK, Canadian or Australian English.

5. Legality
How legal is your site? Have you plagerised someone else’s work? Have you borrowed a copyrighted picture without permission? Have you slandered someone purposely or even accidentally? Even though the World Wide Web seems to be totally anonymous, the various legalities still apply, with the various punishments according to the exact law that has been broken.

I think a lot of information that Nielsen wrote about is still current, no matter how much some people may like to think it’s not.