Chapter 5: Omit needless words
THE ART OF NOT WRITING FOR THE WEB
Introduction
- E.B. White's 17th rule in The Elements of Style
- Krug's Third Law of Usability
- "Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what's left."
- It reduces the noise level of the page.
- It makes the useful content more prominent
- It makes pages shorter, allowing users to see more of each page at a glance without scrolling
Happy talk must die
- "Blah, blah, blah,..."
- Self-congratulatory without defining product or service
- Web users don't have time for small talk
Instructions must die
- Nobody reads instructions
- If users are relegated to instructions, they need to able to find what they're looking for there.
- When instructions are absolutely necessary, cut them back to the bare minimum.
