HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
Avoid the “Here” Syndrome
A common mistake that many web authors make when creating links in body text is
using the “here” syndrome. This is the tendency to create links with a single highlighted
word (
here
) and to describe the links somewhere else in the text. Look at the following
examples, with underlining to indicate link text:
Information about ostrich socialization is contained
here
.
Follow this
link
for a tutorial on the internal combustion engine.
Because links are highlighted on the web page, the links visually pop out more than the
surrounding text (or
draw the eye
, in graphic design lingo). Your visitors will see the link
first, before reading the text. Try creating links this way.
Figure 18.16 shows a particularly heinous example of the “here” syndrome. Close your
eyes, open them quickly, pick a
here
in the figure at random, and then see how long it
takes you to find out what the
here
is for.
FIGURE 18.16
DON'T:
The
“here” syndrome.
18
Now try the same exercise with a well-organized link menu of the same information, as
shown in Figure 18.17.
FIGURE 18.17
DO:
The same
page reorganized.
