Website tips (part 1) – Avoiding ‘visual mishaps’

Strange, but true….

The worst visual mishaps reported to the College of Optometrists in 2014:

• A man who had such dense cataracts that he ate his hearing aids thinking they were cashew nuts;
• A pilot who landed a jumbo jet safely in thick fog, then then taxied it the wrong way along the runway;
• A driver who mistook traffic bollards in the road for children.

The avoidance of website ‘visual mishaps’

These ‘visual mishaps’came about because of deficiencies in sight, although one would have thought that other senses would have kicked in, such as taste (hearing aids aren’t very palatable) or sound (screaming passengers!)

However, when we’re looking at websites, sight is the most important sense we use, so it is vital to be crystal clear so as to avoid  ‘visual mishaps’ which could lead readers down the wrong path.

Now I’m not suggesting that this ‘wrong path’ could be as dramatic as taxiing a jumbo jet the wrong way down a runway….but then again, this image does sum up the need for clarity rather nicely!

5 Top Tips to avoid ‘taxiing down the wrong runway’

1. Don’t be afraid of ‘bad’ grammar – Yes, I know this might be blasphemy for a copywriter, but you don’t have the space to write complete sentences in Titles, Headlines or Annotations – think Clickbait! (note – bad spelling is still a big ‘no no’ though!)
2. Be less ‘artistic’ – Don’t feel the need to use every single font and heading size going. Remember, less is more – having a consistent structure for heading & sub-heading sizes aids clarity for readers.
3. Bullets get to the point – Fact: people look at lists with bullets more often than lists without bullets.
4. Spell out numbers – As per #1, ignore the fact that you are supposed to write small numbers of <10 in full
5. Use CAPITALS sparingly – they are powerful, but ‘shouty’, so use them consistently (e.g. as titles) or to draw attention to a particular keyword. Don’t over-use, or you’ll end up having an online argument you didn’t intend with the reader!