Today I’m gonna take a step back from the coding aspect, and look at an important part of website design. It’s a common dilemma where you have a lot of information to get across, but how do you present it in such a manor that people will actually 1) Read it and 2) Digest the information?
What not to do…
You see it all the time when browsing the web, large blocks of text that would just take so long to read. Have you ever actually thought about how often you’ve actually read the information they’re trying to present you? Most people lead such busy lives they don’t have time to stop and read what looks like a large amount text.
For Example:
Too Much Text
Personally, I wouldn’t stop and read that. Therefore they have lost me straight away. So how do you present the information in such a manor, it becomes interesting, digestible and still gets your information across?
What to do!
Firstly, less is more. Find the key points you want to get across, cut out the rest of the blabber, people don’t have time to read blabber. It’s all about refined information, only say what needs to be said.
Secondly, once you have a list of you key points that you want to get across, then we need to present these key points in a manor that is clear, uncluttered, and to the point. The best way to do this is present the information in small digestible chunks, with short key point headers, icons to match the point, and short sentences that inform about the point.
Apple do this well when they sell their products.
Apple's Way - A Good Way
As you can see the key points on Apples site stands out, they are presented with large images which give readers a taste of what the point is selling. The key points (feature titles) are clear and stand out, and it allows you to see if the feature interests you. If it does you may read a little about it, otherwise you check out the next feature.
Imagine if the images weren’t there and the information was just as a list – chances are people would not read all the points/features as they would be 1) Cluttered and unclear, 2) Indigestible.
Here are some other examples of well laid out information for easy digestion.
Mail Chimp
Mail Chimp sets it information next to large screenshots and clear headings so you can flick through the features and choose to read about it or see what the next feature is.
NexTunes.com.au
NexTunes.com.au uses icons to breakup each of it’s features.
It’s a fairly simple concept and should help you better lay out information on your sites to make it more clear to your visitors as to what you are trying to get across.
