How Users Read on the Web

eyeball

"People rarely read Web pages word for word; instead, they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences."

 

When you teach online, your content is intermeshed with "web pages;" therefore, you must consider the way users of the web will engage with the content you design.

One research study Links to an external site. showed that when people "read" websites, 79% of them scan a page and only 16% read word for word. What does this mean for you, as you design your online class?  You'll want to be mindful that how you design the pages in your online course will impact the number of questions you get from your students. The more clear, concise, and easy to navigate your content is, the fewer questions you will receive.

The tips below from Jakob Nielsen Links to an external site. suggest ways for arranging your content in ways to ensure high impact and engagement.

  • Keywords may be highlighted with boldface type. But the more you words you boldface, the less likely your viewers are to pay attention! Use sparingly. If you find yourself wanting to boldface more than two words on a page, you have too much content on your page.
    • Do not use color to draw attention to words. Accessibility web guidelines discourage this practice, as perception of color varies by individual. Also, contrasting colors on a page are distracting and can deter readers from engaging with your content. 
  • Write with inclusive language. Select words that are accessible to everyone. Do not assume knowledge. 
  • Use meaningful subheadings (rather than "clever" ones or complex, jargon words).
  • Use bulleted lists.
  • Include one idea per paragraph.
  • Be concise.
  • Images can increase interest and engage different parts of the brain.
  • Use hyperlinks to increase the credibility of your pages (you are modeling important skills to your students by doing this, as well!).
  • When hyperlinking to content outside of your course, set the links to open in a new window
    • To set a link to open in a new window in Canvas: highlight the text, press Command-K on e Mac or Control-K on a PC, paste the link into the "URL" field, and next to "Target" select "In a new window".