The shift from sitting stationary in front of a paper or book, to sitting stationary before a glowing screen changes many aspects of your readers’ behaviour. They’re more impatient; more easily distracted; and aren’t as comfortable reading big blocks of text, to name a few.
Taking all of this into account and adjusting your content to make it easier for your readers to engage is what editing online media is all about.
This Tuesday, the online editor for the Winnipeg Free Press - Wendy Sawatzky - will be visiting our class to talk about what her duties involve (and, I also suspect, the need for newspapers to go online).
In preparation, I’ve done a Glenda Ollero and compiled my own list five of online editing/website principles:
1. Use PDF for downloads, not .doc files. Many websites allow you to download documents from their computer to read; for example, restaurants may upload their menus online. For sites like these which are open to the general public who use a variety of word processors and operating systems, use a format like PDF that is compatible across the board. Lots of websites still use .doc for their files, which is inconsiderate to those who don’t use Microsoft Word, or use a newer/older version of it. Trying to then read these files, with all their odd spacing and alignment issues, is frustrating and a waste of the reader’s time.
The guilty party: Dessert Sinsations. (Even more frustrating is they’ve taken the time to convert their dessert menu into PDF, while everything else is a .doc file. All or nothing!)
2. Avoid heavy graphics, or provide a “skip” option. This one also falls under the category of being considerate to your audience. While online text can be improved with interactive graphics, not everyone has lighting speed broadband or a computer with a large graphics card. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid all those fancy effects altogether: provide visitors with an option to skip past the graphics, or have it require the user to press play to activate them (especially video).
The guilty parties: Data Just Data Inc. Albeit an extreme example, but they take the prize not only for the worst flash intro, but for blatant spelling mistakes.
3. Ensure hyperlinks work. This one is in the CP Stylebook for a reason, and it’s summarized quite eloquently: “Test links regularly to make sure they still work. If it doesn’t work, readers will be annoyed.” Even better, the technology is out there so you don’t have do check links manually.
The guilty party: The Brit Cafe. Their link to view their starters/soup and salads/sandwiches has been broken for at least 3 months (although it’s worth the trip to taste what’s on the menu).
4. Check spelling/grammar before publishing and correct mistakes. Nothings says unprofessional like poor spelling and grammar. Sometimes people underestimate their power but the fact is, your credibility goes way down when it’s obvious you didn’t take the time to proofread.
The guilty party: again, The Brit Cafe. I used their website for one of my “Spot the Screwup” assignments as the spelling and grammar here is really quite atrocious. The best screwup?: favourites is spelled “favorites”, even though the owners are British.
5. Rearrange big blocks of text. Whether it means adding subheadings, a bulleted list, or cutting out sentences, find a way to break up large chunks of text. The CP Stylebook warns that almost 80 per cent of online readers scan pages first, and if they aren’t engaged immediately, 70 per cent will move on. Online editors – especially those putting print publications online – must recognize this change in their readership’s behaviour and adjust accordingly.
The guilty party: Winnipeg Free Press. Organizing a restaurant review like this would make for easier reading, rather than republishing the article from the print edition verbatim.
Want more tips? Check out the World's Worst Website for more what-not-to-dos.
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