#WHYYOURHOSPITAL #NEEDSADISTRACTIONFREEWEBDESIGN.

8 ways to make it easier for patients to find what they’re looking for.

 Try reading a book while doing a crossword puzzle,” says Nicholas Carr, in his book, The Swallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains. “That’s the intellectual environment of the Internet.”

Carr, a tech pundit and author, argues that our use of the Internet is creating neurological changes in the brain, affecting our ability to remember facts or pay attention long enough to fully understand what we read.

While many may disagree with Carr, the research he cites in his book has important implications for web usability. Among the findings:

• The more links there are in an article, the lower the comprehension of the reader. This may be because readers devote more of their attention to evaluating links and deciding whether to click them.
• Readers of hypertext click through pages rather than reading them carefully. Worse, readers of hypertext could not remember what they had read or not read.
• People watching a CNN news spot retained far more information without the headlines scrolling at the bottom of the screen.
• Users click instead of reading and finding answers. Study participants who searched for answers to questions in print did better than those searching for answers on web pages.

Does your website distract and overtax your readers? Are your messages too long and complex? Can your visitors find the information they need quickly? How do you engage users who are “clicking instead of concentrating”?

• Keep in mind that “less is often more” on the web. Eliminate distracting site features such as flash animation or scrolling text.
• Make copy easy to scan with subheads and bullets.
• Use site navigation to break your information into shorter pages.
• Make hyperlinks more descriptive. Don’t tell readers to “Read more”; tell them what they will read if they click.
• Write website copy in a conversational, less formal tone.
• Get to the point in the first words. Don’t expect readers to read a long introductory paragraph.
• Use adjectives, hyperbole, “corporate speak,” and jargon sparingly.
• Consider using video to communicate more complex information.

Learn more about distraction-free web design. Contact Affynity Web Solutions