Chapter 25 Web Pages This chapter presents the rhetorical features of Web page design as well as technologies for creating Web pages. Some of your students will be experienced Web page designers while others, like most of us, will be mainly Web page readers. Mining the experiences of the students who have built Web sites can be valuable to both you and the other students in the class. A short Q&A session during a class period could be both fun and illuminating.

Learning Objectives Identify audience and purpose for Web pages Understand what readers expect from Web pages Write appropriate Web-based content Design a basic Web page Identify software used for creating Web pages Recognize the role of teams in Web design Create Web pages for intercultural audiences

Web Pages Once a document is printed on paper, it remains fixed. If the document needs updating, a new (and costly) print run is required. Web-based information, on the other hand, can be updated quickly and at minimal cost. The Web also offers a level of interactivity that printed texts do not. Readers can search the information, forward material to others, ask questions, download files, and click on links that lead to other sources of information.

Considering Audience and Purpose The audience for a Web page can be anyone. Who are the primary readers? Because Web-based information is easy to forward to others, consider the many potential secondary audiences for a Web page. Learn what you can about the purpose of the Web page. Readers of Web pages expect to access exactly what they are looking for, and they will leave a page if they don’t find what they want.

How People Read Web Pages When people read a Web page, they want information quickly, and they typically share the following expectations: accessibility worthwhile content sensible arrangement clean, crisp page design good use of visuals and special effects

Guidelines for Writing Web Pages When writing content for Web pages, remember that readers will be busy. They will lack the patience to wade through long passages of prose. Follow these guidelines: Chunk the information. Write with a readable style. Keep sentences short. Keep paragraphs short. Catch reader attention in the first two paragraphs. Write in a factual, neutral tone.

Guidelines for Writing Web Pages (continued) Choose words that are meaningful. Write with interactive features in mind. Remember that most Web pages are globally accessible.

Guidelines for Designing Web Pages An effective Web page uses a clean, attractive, uncluttered design. Follow these guidelines: Keep the F-shaped reading pattern in mind (people generally look across the page a few times, then skim down the left margin) Use plenty of white space. Provide ample margins. Use an unjustified right margin. Use hyperlinks to direct readers to other information. Use a consistent font style and size.

Guidelines for Designing Web Pages (continued) Don’t use underlining for emphasis (underlining indicates a hyperlink). Use ample headings. Use visuals (charts, graphs, photographs) effectively. Use a balanced color palette.

Techniques and technologies for Creating Web Sites Creating a Web site typically involves two major steps. First, you need to plan your overall approach to the site. After this high-level planning comes the detail work involved in writing and designing each individual Web page on the site. Storyboarding, teamwork, and using the right tools and technologies are all essential to the process of creating a Web site.

Techniques and technologies for Creating Web Sites (continued) Storyboarding: To plan a Web site, use a storyboard—a sketch of the site, or a site map. The site map gives you an overall view of what the site will contain:

Techniques and technologies for Creating Web Sites (continued) Teamwork: Workplace Web sites are typically developed by a team whose members need to connect their different areas of expertise. Meetings, especially during the early planning stages, allow everyone to have input. Tools and technologies: Simple Web pages can be created with everyday software, such as word-processing programs. For more complicated Web sites, programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver and NVU are the norm.

Guidelines for Writing Global Web Pages Readers of Web pages may come from a variety of countries and cultures. Keep these global audiences in mind as you write and design your site. Follow these guidelines: Write in clear, simple English, in a way that makes translation easy. Avoid cultural references and humor. Offer different language options. Use colors and visuals appropriately.

Ethical and Legal Considerations The power of a Web page increases the writer’s or designer’s need for sound ethical and legal judgment. The speed of the Internet, its global reach, and a Web page’s ability to combine sound, color, images, text, and interactivity create the potential for manipulation and distortion. Legal considerations in preparing Web pages include copyright issues and privacy considerations.

Review Questions 1. What are two advantages of Web pages compared to print documents? 2. What are five things audiences expect from Web pages? 3. What are three ways to make information accessible when writing a Web page? 4. What are three ways to make a Web page inviting when designing for the Web? 5. What is the F-shaped reading pattern? Answers 1. Web-based information can be updated quickly and at minimal cost. The Web also offers a level of interactivity that printed texts do not. 2. Accessibility, worthwhile content, sensible arrangement, clean/crisp page design, and good use of visuals and special effects. 3. Chunk the information, keep sentences short, and keep paragraphs short. 4. Use plenty of white space, provide ample margins, and use a consistent font style and size. 5. The reading pattern people generally follow when they read. They look across the page a few times, then skim down the left margin.

Review Questions (continued) 6. What are the two major steps of writing for the Web? 7. What is storyboarding? 8. What are four global considerations to keep in mind when writing Web pages? 9. Why are ethical considerations especially important when writing for the Web? 10. What are the two major legal considerations to consider when writing for the Web? Answers (continued) 6. First, you need to plan your overall approach to the site. After this high-level planning comes the detail work involved in writing and designing each individual Web page on the site. 7. Planning a Web site using a sketch of the site, or a site map. The site map gives you an overall view of what the site will contain. 8. Write in clear, simple English, in a way that makes translation easy, avoid cultural references and humor, offer different language options, use colors and visuals appropriately. 9. The speed of the Internet, its global reach, and a Web page’s ability to combine sound, color, images, text, and interactivity create the potential for manipulation and distortion. 10. Copyright issues and privacy considerations.