Scanability: Difference between revisions

Having a good layout and [[Design|design]] when writing online is as important as the writing. Scanability is one of the of the key tools to online layout. Readers will often look very quickly over a page to decide if what they are looking for will be found. Headlines, subheads and links are all ways to achieve a more scannable page. Making small changes like variation in font size, and color or adding an image/graphic can also help your writing be more scannable.

[[File:Scannability.jpg|400px|thumb|right|This image shows how breaking up large amounts to text using headlines sub heads and even a graphic can make writing more scannable.<ref>Butler </ref>]]

When writing online it is a good idea to present the most important information first. When reading an outline vs a full text article; the readability is far better in an outline. The outline is easy to read and conveys all of the information the full text does just in a bulleted way. Readers can easily locate what they are looking for in an outline and when they find it, they can go to the full text for the details. Links are like the full text. Practice writing in headlines and subheads to make finding information easy, and link to other good sources to give what has been written more detail. [[Graphics|Graphics]] can also be used for a headline if there is applicable text in the graphic.

Headlines <ref>Carroll,34 </ref> and Subheads are a great way to  

#*Reading a long paragraph will likely be off putting to an online reader, visually breaking up text using headlines and even subheads then the reader is more likely to actually read the information.

#*Headlines can be presented in a different font, size or even color than the rest of the text and can early catch the attention of the reader.

#*Often the information that is presented can be summarized in a few words, this is helpful so the reader can find exactly what they are looking for.

Keep all links up to date and working all the time. Broken links make sites non-crediable and add unnecessary weight to the text.  All links should have a purpose, and the site linked to should also follow the other rules of good online writing. [[Navigation and Usability|Navigating]] to a new page should not distract the reader or cause confusion.