Tomorrow Design || The Design Work of Steven Walker || A Chicago Web Design Firm || Design, Development, and Craft

Take a look around, but take a read around too while you’re at it

The idea is to actually have people read what I write, not just look at it briefly and move along. Speaking to that, I read a very interesting article on A List Apart that talked about the design your copy so it’s conducive to reading.  Not just assuming people will read what you’ve written because the content is something they are interested in. Many writers overlook the necessity to design copy and in turn create a convoluted atmosphere (surely inadvertently) that takes their users away from intended target, i.e. the article or story.

“We concern ourselves with their [the users] travel and participation—how they move from page to page, who they talk to when they get there—but forget the needs of those whose purpose is to be still. Readers flourish when they have space—some distance from the hubbub of the crowds—and as web designers, there is yet much we can do to help them carve out that space.” – Mandy Brown, A List Apart

Getting a user to engage and actually read what you’ve written can be a difficult task and assuming that they will read what you’ve written because you’ve “written something that is really interesting and worth reading” is a misnomer. Adding things like related content or comments can most definitely add value, but it’s things like this that are often placed where they battle with content you are trying to get the user to engage in. An unenjoyable reading experience will disengage many readers and maybe even make it so they don’t return. That’s no good.
I’ve heard many say (even a former co-worker that was in the web design field!) that people don’t read on the internet, and that people won’t read more than the first paragraph or two on your website. I guess that could be true if your content blows, but why even include content if it’s not going to be read? Some might say for SEO purposes but I think that is hogwash. SEO should be dictated by quality content and thus come naturally. By giving the user relevant material keywords will find their way in to your writings by virtue of subject accuracy, meaning if you are writing about design odds are you will have to use the keyword design.
In end, consider carefully your presentation and realize this is as important as the content you are providing. Your content is meaningless if no one reads it, and vise versa. I can’t quite say what I write is enthralling enough to read all the way through, I’ll let you be the judge of that. I’ll do my best to make the experience aesthetically relevant and pleasing and hopefully as time goes on my writing will continue to improve.  Of course if you’ve made it all the way down to this sentence, that would mean I was successful so far.

until tomorrow…