Subject Index
A
,
Accessibility
allowing adjustmentsto design,
48–49
blind users scan with their ears,
138,
263
Click here, More, (don’t use),
263
color-blind people,
50–51
JAWS, picture of links list,
263
links to laws and guidelines,
Action phrases (calls to action, verb phrases) in
Ads, not make content look like,
284
Alignment
All capitals, not writing in,
64–65
B
Back button, keeping people from needing,
99
Blinking text or pictures, why to avoid,
284–285
Bold type in headings,
65
Breaking up content, guidelines for,
101
Bullets
bulleted lists, when to use,
227–230
matching to site’s personality,
229–230
C
Capital letters, why not to use,
64–65,
162
Cascading style sheet (CSS),
58,
238
Centering text, why not to,
59–60
Checklists
for cutting to essential messages,
132
Click here, why not to use,
262–265
Color-blind site visitors,
50–51
Color
unvisited and visited links,
268–269
Content
integrating with design,
46–48
reviewing and revising,
294
using illustrations to support,
277–279
using real content in design,
47
Context first in sentences,
219–221
Contextual interviewing,
22
Conversation,
xxv,
2–3,
5–15,
29,
79,
101,
108,
113–116,
125,
155–156,
219–221,
248–249,
296
Critical incident interviewing,
22
D
Design process, user-centered,
xxvi
Diagnostic usability testing,
307
Diversity in illustrations,
280–282
Dividing content by
Doctrine of no surprise,
299
Draft to final web pages, getting from,
289–302
Dumbing down, writing informally is not,
197
E
F
False bottoms, avoiding,
57–58
File cabinet as poor metaphor,
Final (getting to from drafts),
291–292
First-level heading (headlines),
157
Floating heading, avoiding,
58
Focus groups
compared to usability testing,
313
with usability testing,
313
Formal test report, may not need,
310
Formatting
Forms
as conversation, ,
82,
206
Frequently asked questions (FAQs), ,
170
G
Global audiences
Grab and go writing,
Greeking (lorum ipsum), don’t do,
47
H
action phrases as (calls to action, verb phrases),
178
floating, problems with,
58
using site visitors words in,
181
Headlines
action phrases as (calls to action, verb phrases),
161–162
combining labels with more information,
162
for global audiences,
159
site visitors’ words in,
158
short description with,
163
getting people to key tasks,
79–81
matching visitors’ conversation,
79
setting tone and personality of site,
76–78
I
I (personal pronoun), using,
204–207
blinking, rolling, waving, wandering (don’t do),
284–285
mood setting (for emotional response),
279–280
Imperatives, use in instructions,
199
Informal usability testing,
309
clear writing in legal information,
253
Information type, dividing content by,
106–108
Instructions
action phrase headings for,
177
Interviewing techniques,
22
Italics (use sparingly),
65
J
K
Asking people what are,
148
Statement headings to convey,
176
Statement headlines to convey,
161
Key visitors, key tasks, focusing on,
79–81
Keywords
Krug, Steve, foreword,
99,
311
L
Legal information, writing clearly,
255
avoiding archaic legal language,
254–255
avoiding technical language,
255
sample privacy policy,
256,
257
Length
Levels of headings, using no more than two,
181–182
Life event, dividing content by,
112
matching page headline,
261
new program and product names,
260–261
short descriptions with,
163
non-instructions, numbered,
236–237
turning paragraphs into steps,
232
Lorem ipsum (don’t use),
47,
48
M
Major audiences, listing,
23
Marketing calendars (meshing with editorial),
108
N
Narrative style (compared to inverted pyramid),
136–137
Navigation column and same-page links,
185
Nouns, as
New program and product names as links,
260–261
Numbered lists
Numbers, using tables to compare,
243
O
One-sentence paragraphs (good),
218
P
Paragraphs
Partial drafts, sharing,
295
like a table of contents,
94–96
short descriptions in,
96–98
smoothness of path versus number of clicks,
98–99
People, dividing content by,
109–111
gathering data for,
21–23
walking through conversations,
296–297
Phone, as good metaphor,
3–4
Portable document format (PDF),
119–123
Privacy policy (sample),
257
Processes (showing visually),
198
Product type, dividing content by,
106
Progressive disclosure (technique for layering),
141–146
Q
Quesenbery, Whitney,
30,
309
Questions
site visitors’ point of view,
172–174
site visitors’ words in,
158
R
Reading
when web users do and don’t,
4–5
with technical and legal reviewers,
298–301
S
Sans serif and serif type,
61–63
Scanning and skimming, ,
126
Scent of information,
90,
99
Search engine optimization (SEO)
importance of in
general,
Search, internal, at web site, ,
22
Search box, placement of,
84
Sentences
fragments instead of,
98,
212
short, simple, straightforward,
212–214
subject and verb placement in,
215
untangling convoluted,
215
Sequence, dividing content by,
112
Short
Site personality
Site visitors
characteristics of,
23–29
colors for color-blind,
50–51
creating personas for,
29–33
gathering information about,
21–23
Social media, , , ,
15,
22,
40,
118,
149,
194,
206,
212
Space as a design element,
53–54
Statements
T
for comparing numbers,
243
for “if, then” sentences,
243
within numbered lists,
233
Tag lines, for home pages,
75
Tasks
focusing on top tasks,
79–81
formative (diagnostic, informal),
307,
310,
311
Three clicks is a myth,
98–99
Time, dividing content by,
112
Topics, dividing content by,
105
U
formative (diagnostic, informal),
307,
310,
311
User-centered design process,
xxvi
V
Voice
choosing for the site,
76
W
“W” for writing about organizations,
207
hearing the conversation,
216
one-sentence paragraphs,
218
Words
avoiding technical jargon,
255
Y