Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies) (Interactive Technologies) (Interactive Technologies) | 
 enlarge | Author: Janice (ginny) Redish
Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
Category: Book
List Price: $49.95
Buy New: $30.99
You Save: $18.96 (38%)
New (31) Used (9) from $30.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 7543
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 0123694868
Dewey Decimal Number: 006.7
EAN: 9780123694867
ASIN: 0123694868
Publication Date: June 11, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All orders ship same business day via standard shipping (USPS Media Mail) if received by 1 PM CST.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Redish has done her homework and created a thorough overview of the issues in writing for the Web. Ironically, I must recommend that you read her every word so that you can find out why your customers won't read very many words on your website -- and what to do about it.;-- Jakob Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Norman GroupThere are at least twelve billion web pages out there. Twelve billion voices talking, but saying mostly nothing. If just 1% of those pages followed Ginnys practical, clear advice, the world would be a better place. Fortunately, you can follow her advice for 100% of your own sites pages, so pick up a copy of Letting Go of the Words and start communicating effectively today.--Lou Rosenfeld, co-author, Information Architecture for the World Wide WebOn the web, whether on the job or at home, we usually want to grab information and use it quickly. We go to the web to get answers to questions or to complete tasks to gather information, reading only what we need. We are all too busy to read much on the web.This book helps you write successfully for web users. It offers strategy, process, and tactics for creating or revising content for the web. It helps you plan, organize, write, design, and test web content that will make web users come back again and again to your site.Learn how to create usable and useful content for the web from the master Ginny Redish. Ginny has taught and mentored hundreds of writers, information designers, and content owners in the principles and secrets of creating web information that is easy to scan, easy to read, and easy to use. This practical, informative book will help anyone creating web content do it better.Features* Clearly-explained guidelines with full color illustrations and examples from actual web sites throughout the book. * Written in easy-to-read style with many ;befores; and ;afters.;* Specific guidelines for web-based press releases, legal notices, and other documents.* Tips on making web content accessible for people with special needs.Janice (Ginny) Redish has been helping clients and colleagues communicate clearly for more than 20 years. For the past ten years, her focus has been helping people create usable and useful web sites. She is co-author of two classic books on usability: A Practical Guide to Usability Testing (with Joseph Dumas), and User and Task Analysis for Interface Design (with JoAnn Hackos), and is the recipient of many awards.* Clearly-explained guidelines with full color illustrations and examples from actual web sites throughout the book.* Written in easy-to-read style with many ;befores; and ;afters.;* Specific guidelines for web-based press releases, legal notices, and other documents.* Tips on making web content accessible for people with special needs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
Hang Onto this Book! August 25, 2008
I've worked with a web developer for 2 years, and have stayed on the editorial side. However, now I have more input into the site design, and I'm finding great assistance from Ginny Redish. She's done her homework to help the reader delve into the minds of their site visitors, and thinks outside the normal constraints.
It offers technical assistance without being a coding manual, and for the creative person who is not a coder or developer, this is a terrific tool!
It's not for the programmer who knows the how-to side, but it's for the content and creative person trying to attract the right attention and reach the right people.
A must-read for any web developer June 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book should be considered required reading for anyone designing and developing sites.
Most of the websites online do not follow the practices outlined in this book and would be better off if they did.
The book is filled with clear examples and shows bad content and then the ways to improve it.
Great book!
First Non-Fiction Book I Couldn't Put Down May 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
From the moment I started reading this well-constructed, excellently researched book, I couldn't put it down and wanted to know more. The pages are reader-friendly, and lots of good examples make all the author's advice come to life on the page. "Letting Go of the Words" clarifies so many gray areas of writing for the web. I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever has to write anything that will appear on the web, and also to designers who are responsble for setting up websites. Once you read this book, you won't be able to look at any website in the same way again.
Very helpful book April 28, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is an absolute must read for anyone who develops websites. Ginny Redish provides great examples of web pages and how the visitor is affected by the arrangement of the content. I love the way she presents a website user and allows you to "think" like a visitor.
One of the best books in the field April 5, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm a big fan of technical communication texts. This book is exceptional, and stands apart from others in many ways:
- Many technical communication texts repeat the same rote guidelines. Although this book does not ignore the "classic" rules (e.g., "Write in inverted pyramid style"; "Use space effectively"), many of the rules are unexpected or even contrarian (e.g., "Use a sans-serif font"; "Long lists are o.k. for familiar items"). All rules are backed by examples that demonstrate their effectiveness.
- The book provides clear examples of real-world Web content, including many "before" and "after" images that demonstrate the book's principles.
- The production of the book is excellent. The color printing and rich layout help to make the book attractive and approachable.
Although the focus of this book is Web communication, the rules, principles, and guidelines are relevant to any form of written communication. The number of examples and diversity of the book's guidelines make this an ideal text for technical communicators and Web content developers of all levels of experience and proficiency.
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