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Ted Nelson's Xanadu Dream
Ted Nelson's Xanadu Dream
Ted Nelson's Xanadu Dream
building block of hypertext, the stuff that Ted Nelson's Xanadu dream was made of.
I distinctly remember reading this 1995 Wired article on Ted Nelson and Xanadu
when it was published. It had a profound impact on me. I've always remembered it,
long after that initial read. I know it's novella long, but it's arguably the best single
article I've ever read in Wired; I encourage you to read it in its entirety when you
have time. It speaks volumes about the souls of computers-- and the software
developers who love them.
Xanadu was vaporware long before the term even existed. You might think that Ted
Nelson would be pleased that HTML and the world wide web have delivered much
of the Xanadu dream, almost 40 years later. But you'd be wrong:
But enough about the history of the hyperlink. How can we use them effectively in
the here and now? I thoroughly enjoyed Philipp Lenssen's recent link usability tips.
I liked it so much, in fact, that I'm using it as a template for a visual compendium of
link usability tips-- the art of hyperlinking.
1. Ensure your links are large enough to easily click. When building links,
don't run afoul of Fitt's Law. If what you're linking is small, make it bigger. If
you can't make it bigger, at least fluff it up a bit with clickable borders so it's
easier for people to accurately click. In the below screenshot, only the
numbers are linked, which is a shame.
2. The first link is the most important one. The first link will garner most of
the reader's attention, and the highest clickthrough rates. Choose your first
link appropriately. Start with the important stuff. Don't squander your first
link on a triviality.
3. Don't link everything. Using too many links will turn your text into noise.
This works in two dimensions: excessive linking makes text difficult to read,
and excessive linking causes deflation in the value of all your existing links.
Link in moderation. Only link things important enough to warrant a link.
4. Don't radically alter link behavior. Links are the cornerstone of the web.
Users have built up years of expectactions based on existing behavior in their
web browsers. When you change the way hyperlinks work, you're redefining a
fundamental part of the web. Is this really what you want? Is this really what
your readers want?
5. Don't title your link "Click Here". Don't even use the words "Click" or
"Here" anywhere in your link text. Describe what the link will do for the user
when they click on it.
6. Don't link things the user might want to select and copy. Woe upon the
poor user who needs to select and copy hyperlinked text. It requires a
complex ballet of very precise mouse movements to get it to work at all.
Here, I'm trying to select the name "Ralph Waldo Emerson", which is part of
the hyperlink. Granted, this is not a terribly common scenario-- it's probably
the most subtle tip on Philipp's list. But when it happens, it's awkward and
unpleasant, so do give it some consideration.
7. Don't include icons on every link. If we're linking in moderation, we should
be using link icons in extreme moderation. If every other link has an icon, it's
noise. Only highly unusual or irregular links should include icons. I'd also
argue that your text, if written properly, can easily communicate the type of
link as well as an icon can, but this gets into the realm of personal preference.
8. Don't make your content depend on links to work. Not everyone will click
on your hyperlinks. Either they're too busy to click every single link you put
in front of them, or maybe they're reading your article in another format
where they can't click on the links: print, offline, or mobile. Either way, it's
important to provide the context necessary to make your content
understandable without the need to visit whatever is behind those hyperlinks.
(If you're wondering what this example is about, I should warn you-- it's not
worth it. For once the inanity of Digg comments was totally appropriate:
"retarded blog war".)
9. Don't hide your links. Hyperlinks should look like hyperlinks. Give them a
distinct style, so they cannot be confused with any of the other text on the
page. Definitely choose a unique color not used anywhere else on your page,
and consider using the well-worn convention of the link underline when
necessary. What's clickable here?
10. Don't mix advertising and links. These look like hyperlinks, but they're
actually advertising. Which type of link is which, again? And why should the
user have to think about this?
11. Don't obfuscate your URLs. Users can preview where your link will
ultimately send them by hovering their mouse over it and viewing the URL in
the status bar. Avoid using redirects or URL shortening services which make
the URL totally opaque. The user shouldn't have to take a leap of faith when
clicking on your links.
To head off any potential hate mail headed my way, these are guidelines, not rules.
If you know what you're doing, you also know that rules were made to be broken in
the right circumstances. The problem is that most people writing HTML don't know
what they're doing. A search for "click here" is ample proof of that.