The Building Blocks of a Web Text
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First of all, the user wants to know which core statement your text communicates. To facilitate this you have to structure your text into different units.
Headline
Headlines inform the user in advance about the content of the text. They function as eye-catchers: First the user reads the headlines and on this basis decides whether it is worth paying further attention to the text. This is why, above all, a headline has to be informative and relevant for the targeted user. Comprehensible formulation and conciseness make the headline attractive and stimulating. Word games are of secondary importance. The headline outlines the topic of the text in a few words. However, the rule of thumb not to use more than six words is not a dogma. It is essential that the headline establishes a connection to the content of the text by means of short and concise formulations.
In contrast to the floating text, headlines are already visible on the home or welcome page. However, headlines also appear on the second level of navigation where the floating text is placed. Via a link there is a connection to the home page. When navigating through the different levels of the website the wording of the headline serves the user as a point of reference. This is why the headline has to be informative, concise and at the same time catchy. It contains the most important facts in a wording that is suitable for the respective target group.
Source: www.usatoday.com(09/05/06)
Subline and overline
Often, there is a second elucidating line of text above or below the headline. It helps to classify the text or to set it into a broader context, etc.
What is a teaser?
The word teaser is derived from the verb "to tease" which means "to attract". Depending on the medium the teaser may be the opening scene of a film, a preview or an introduction to a text. Characteristic of all varieties of teasers is that they attempt to arouse interest.
Teaser and lead – the introductory text
The most important building block of your web-text is the teaser. On the home page it forms a unit with the headline; in other words: it explicates the headline.
The teaser compresses the information conveyed by the subsequent text in one or more catchy sentences. The rule of thumb is: Do not use more than three sentences. The teaser should introduce the story by taking up the most important key-questions (who? what? where? when? why? how?) and stimulate the reader to click on the link leading to the main story. In addition to the headline the teaser serves as the most important selection criterion for the user. Figuratively speaking, the teaser is a kind of slide leading the user right into the topic of the text. There are several possibilities of introducing the user to the story:
1. The summary teaser
The summary teaser responds to the most important key-questions in one go. It resembles the classical lead, for it compresses all the most important pieces of information. You have to pay attention not to overburden the first sentence with facts. Otherwise, it is too difficult to understand.
Here an example taken from the online edition of The New York Times, (09/04/06):
"Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the 'Crocodile Hunter', was killed on Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said."
2. The modified teaser
The modified teaser is less formalised than the summary teaser. It incorporates only the most important facts. Thus, it is short, concise and informative. One sentence is sufficient to present the most important information. Due to its conciseness the modified teaser is particularly suitable for websites.
Here is an example taken from the online edition of USA today, (09/04/06):
"One of two troopers ambushed while searching for an escaped convict died Sunday of his injuries, and state police vowed to capture the man they believe killed him."
3. The anonymous teaser
This type of teaser is often chosen when the name or exact identification of a person or thing does not play a significant role. The anonymous teaser can also be used to create tension and to make the reader long for more information. If a teaser announces "London court confirms fatherhood", the question arises: Why is this statement written? What is it about? The reader’s curiosity is aroused – but only in the main article the name "Boris Becker" is dropped and at last the reader is in the picture.
In the following example taken from the online edition of The Guardian (09/04/06) names are irrelevant:
"Cheap fatty sausages and Turkey Twizzlers are out and fresh fruit and vegetables are in as pupils return from their summer break today to healthier school meals and cooking lessons."
4. The entertaining teaser
The teaser is not always composed in a strictly objective way. There are also 'entertaining' or 'commentarial' teasers which, above all, strive to create tension by holding back information.
Here an example taken from the online edition of the International Herald Tribune, (09/01/06):
"To be duped into printing a made-up love letter in your latest biography is bad enough. But to discover that the ersatz document is actually a very rude insult aimed specifically at you: that is a rare kind of humiliation."
Not until you access the floating text by clicking on the underlined teaser, the key-questions are elucidated: A.N. Wilson, one of London’s most visible and waspish literary figures, wrote a book about the British poet laureate John Betjeman. In this book he included a steamy letter purporting to be from Betjeman to a friend named Honor Tracy, and Wilson used it as evidence that the two had a passionate affair. As it turned out it was a fake document. The first letters of each sentence spell out an insulting sentence that starts with Wilson’s name and ends with a vulgarity.
How to attract the user’s attention
Like the lead in the print media the teaser precedes the floating text and presents the most important facts in short. However, in general a teaser is somewhat shorter than a lead. In this article the distinciton that specialist texts make as regards content is neglected because in practice lead and teaser are viewed as one and the same thing.
The following is important: a well written teaser has to attract the user’s attention, i.e. it has to provide striking catchwords. On the other hand, it should not compress the information too much, otherwise the reader has difficulties in getting an idea of what the article is about and consequently he or she is not interested in gaining further information.
Here an example taken from Times online (09/06/06):
"Tony Blair's authority - and his desire to cling to office until next summer - were directly challenged today when six junior members of his Government resigned"
In this case the teaser contains all the key-questions that are relevant for the news. Who does what and why? However, the teaser does not disclose too much information, so that the user is still motivated to read on.
The floating text
By clicking on the underlined words in the teaser or on the attached link 'more' or 'continue' the user reaches the second navigation level where the floating text is placed. Again the floating text is introduced by the teaser/lead.
Each unit of this text should in turn be built according to the inverted pyramid style. Structure the text into well scannable bits: Make use of short sentences and short paragraphs each carrying only one argument. These paragraphs should then be separated by sufficient white space or sublines. Another option is to make use of bullet point or enumeration lists.
A further method to make your text even more appealing is the detail-on-demand principle. Aspects that are not crucial for the story, but nevertheless provide interesting background information, can be outsourced into a separate text module which is linked to the main text. If the users are interested in details, they have the option to retrieve this additional information as well.Published: 03/2007
Author: Saim Alkan
| | Saim Alkan is managing director of aexea - Integrated Communication and author of several books. As lecturer and instructor he specializes in coaching and counseling online-editors.
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