What we need to read as opposed to what we want to read

Reality Check

CNN is slick. By "slick" I mean flashy with all the bells and whistles we've become accustomed to seeing in a basic website (including those annoying pop-ups). According to the gurus at gooddocuments.com, our goal is not to be slick but to be efficient. We're not out to attract new readers, we're out to keep our current readers reading.

Great Sites

While CNN's site has a lot of Hollywood flash, it's also structured in a way to help readers find exactly what they're looking for. It's compact and presents a great deal of information on the page so that you don't have to scroll down. The major headlines are towards the top and a menu on the left offers readers the option to search out further news in the areas of arts, sports and health.

Chances are most of us won't be working as webmasters for CNN, but we could end up designing web documents for businesses such as Herman Miller, Steelcase, Meijer or GVSU. Herman Miller has an intranet, also quite slick, in which employees can respond to job postings, discuss workplace issues at a virtual "watercooler", watch monthly business update videos and peruse health plan documents.

A few things to keep in mind

As gooddocuments.com emphasizes, writing good web-based documents takes some thought, especially when writing those cumbersome business briefings and HMO plan documents. Here are a some things that help make reading all those words easier:

• Keep it short and sweet. People don't like reading lots of text, especially on a computer screen. Take a hint from from Henry David Thoreau. "Simplicity, simplicity simplicity!" Stick to the main idea and don't get too wordy.
• Use bold text when appropriate. Bold text helps the readers skim documents for the information they're looking for.
• Mark your paragraphs with subject headings. Readers want to know what information is contained in that paragraph so that they don't have to read it.
• Organization is key. Remember not all readers will approach the same document in the same way. Take that HMO plan, for example. The couple wanting to know if their fertility treatments are covered are not going to be looking for the same things as the man who threw his back out playing golf and needs to search for a good in-network chiropractor.
• Companies will be looking to the writer to help them save money. A good, structured document will increase productivity by decreasing reading time and employee visits to the optometrist.

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