Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works

by Janice G. Redish

"Redish has done her homework and created a thorough overview of the issues in writing for the Web. Ironically, I must recommend that you read her every word so that you can find out why your customers won't read very many words on your website -- and what to do about it."-- Jakob Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Norman Group“There are at least twelve billion web pages out there. Twelve billion voices talking, but saying mostly nothing. If just 1% of those pages followed Ginny’s practical, clear advice, the world would be a better place. Fortunately, you can follow her advice for 100% of your own site’s pages, so pick up a copy of Letting Go of the Words and start communicating effectively today.”--Lou Rosenfeld, co-author, Information Architecture for the World Wide WebOn the web, whether on the job or at home, we usually want to grab information and use it quickly. We go to the web to get answers to questions or to complete tasks – to gather information, reading only what we need. We are all too busy to read much on the web.This book helps you write successfully for web users. It offers strategy, process, and tactics for creating or revising content for the web. It helps you plan, organize, write, design, and test web content that will make web users come back again and again to your site. Learn how to create usable and useful content for the web from the master - Ginny Redish. Ginny has taught and mentored hundreds of writers, information designers, and content owners in the principles and secrets of creating web information that is easy to scan, easy to read, and easy to use. This practical, informative book will help anyone creating web content do it better. Features * Clearly-explained guidelines with full color illustrations and examples from actual web sites throughout the book. * Written in easy-to-read style with many "befores" and "afters."* Specific guidelines for web-based press releases, legal notices, and other documents.* Tips on making web content accessible for people with special needs. Janice (Ginny) Redish has been helping clients and colleagues communicate clearly for more than 20 years. For the past ten years, her focus has been helping people create usable and useful web sites. She is co-author of two classic books on A Practical Guide to Usability Testing (with Joseph Dumas), and User and Task Analysis for Interface Design (with JoAnn Hackos), and is the recipient of many awards.

* Clearly-explained guidelines with full color illustrations and examples from actual web sites throughout the book.* Written in easy-to-read style with many "befores" and "afters."* Specific guidelines for web-based press releases, legal notices, and other documents. * Tips on making web content accessible for people with special needs.

Genres: Writing, Design, Nonfiction, Website Design, Business, Reference, Web

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lately I've been reading lots of business-type books. Many contain little actual content aside from one or two snappy ideas.

This book, however, is so densely packed with useful, sensible information that it took me ages to finish. I have pages of notes, and will likely go back to review the examples when I need inspiration to get me unstuck.

The author follows her own advice in making this book readable, scannable, and incredibly useful no matter what stage you are at in designing a website. I especially appreciate her emphasis on accessibility for all! It's a principle that helps every user, not just those who can't read traditional text.

I can't recommend it highly enough.

[Julia Kulgavchuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of the content of this 2007 book is timeless, but unfortunately the book as a whole can't be called timeless: the technology of that time shows through too much. Another issue is the depth: now in 2016 the book is very far from being a comprehensive guide; the topics have been covered much deeper elsewhere.

What is highly relevant still is the content-first approach to design, in 2016 not yet being recognized widely enough. The user-centered approach to writing (speak the language of your users) is very valuable, too. The parts on style and formatting are relevant and will stay so. The guide to writing link text makes a lot of sense. There are quite a few great notes on accessibility.

All in all, now in 2016 this book is not a must-read, as the same topics have been covered in the context of newer technology. Nothing is wrong with the book (apart from perhaps one facepalm-inducing piece of advice: "Match bullets to you site's personality," followed by an example of butterfly photos as bullet points, each of them different), but there's more timely reading on the same topics. Our knowledge has grown a lot since 2007.

[Allyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was probably one of the most idiotic textbooks I've ever been asked to use, so I will likely be selling this back because I not only got nothing out of it, but it also didn't really elaborate on anything that could have probably benefited readers. There was nothing in here that I didn't already know about writing for the web or web design. By the end of the book, she covers a lot of material without really going in depth or explaining her points. She just briefly touches on something and then moves on, like the last point was no big deal, and that you should be able to read her mind about everything that she didn't elaborate on.

[Alice Chau-Ginguene · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are writing ANYTHING on the Internet for business - website, Facebook post, tweet (!) blog, etc...
You NEED to read this book.
It opens your eyes to see what writing on the Internet is NOT writing at all! It's communicating, it's talking to your audience with words.
I can't wait to put all I learn in use! A revamp of my business website is much needed!

[Sunflower · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Letting Go of Words, was a real help to me. I come in from print media and this book helped me shape my mind for web writing. I recommend it to anyone interested in slimming down your word count, but at the same time getting your message out there.

[Karen Mardahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is for the 2012 edition.

Anyone doing any kind of web writing or technical communication or remotely connected with either should stop now and go buy this book. You need it. OK?

I bought the 2007 edition and never got around to properly reading it! As a friend said, when I sat down to properly read this, I would nod at everything because I already knew it.
Well, yes, I did, but the thing is, I don't always remember the whys and wherefores when doing things. I think it is because I have been the lone writer in organisations for so long that I forget why. It's like breathing or walking or other executive functions that you just do.

With this book in hand, you can explain why such-and-such in a coherent way and not just slam the table and say it's because I say so. :)

There was a slightly bizarre side-effect of reading this right now. I am doing what is called topic-based authoring at work, which is for manuals and the online help for our product. This book exemplified of lot of what we do do and should do and are learning to do. I kept on thinking of work and issues that made waves there. I practise these methods, so reading a book like this was kind of an out-of-body experience, you could say. (So that's what I do. :)) I think I will get our tech docs manager to buy a copy for the benefit of all my colleagues.

Just check out the TOC on the book's website or the Amazon page to see what is covered. Says it all. I feel the necessary topics were covered from all angles. Accessibility was covered as a natural aspect of writing. SEO, too. There are a ton of references to go on to after this. And over all, Ginny had a conversation with me. Of course, I am biased. I believe firmly that if your content is crap, your web/manual/whatever will fail regardless of the coolest techniques or best design. Work that content, folks!

Little rant about the Kindle format.

I read this in the Kindle version. I rented it because I have the first version in paperback and thought I would supplement up with the Kindle and not buy another book. Well, Ginny didn't just update the book. She re-wrote it. She looked back on her 5-year-old thoughts and updated wherever necessary, in addition to adding new sections to take new technology into account. That is admirable and good. I think I may buy the paperback book to have on hand now. Why paperback and not Kindle? I like paper for books of this type. It works better for me. I read the book on my Kindle and in the Cloud Reader on Amazon. The images were not clear enough on the Kindle. What really got to me was the formatting. I see the 2007 paperback and recognize conventions in the online version, but I felt the layout left something to be desired. Sidebars and such graphic conventions for notes, etc. were weird (to me) on the Kindle. I lacked location and relation to the rest. I often didn't realize it was a kind of sidebar note at first. Maybe paper layout is so engrained in me. I have concluded that audio versions on non-fiction are bad to my way of reading. I think Kindle may be, too. I have more books of this type on my Kindle, but I think they will be OK to read. I will think twice about book format next time I buy however. I don't know whether it is Amazon/Kindle or the stylesheet at Morgan Kaufmann (publisher) who is responsible for the layout that I found irritating. Also, synching between the Cloud Reader and my Kindle often failed. I could read a bit on the Cloud, but then I had to manually page up to the last spot read on my Kindle. Synching didn't work. Big fail.

UPDATE: I bought the 2012 edition in an O'Reilly sale the day after we discussed this in my UX Bookclub. Now I have the .mobi, .pdf, and .epub versions to read wherever I want. DRM free!

[Book Calendar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letting Go of the Words Writing Web Content That Works by Janice Ginny Radish.

This book focuses on how to write content for the web. It is more than just writing content. Janice Radish describes how to write links, describe pathways between different parts of websites, include images with text, and write specific types of informational pages.

Writing for the web is different than writing on paper. Communication occurs in shorter paragraphs with more concise language. Because it is more visually oriented, headings are more important, and paragraphs are often broken down into bulleted or numbered lists.

The examples in this book are mainly commercial pages. There are many full color diagrams, photographs, and web page captures with explanations . This makes the book very easy to follow. There is also a bibliography and index.

I found some of the things she describes quite useful. For example, she tells us how to create an ideal user profile, and break apart large blocks of written text into shorter paragraphs with bolded headings and links.

If you are writing a commercial or informational site this book should be quite helpful. There are discussons on how to write a frequently asked questions page, add text to images, and create easy to follow directions between home, pathway, and information pages.

I found this book because I was reading about content strategy. Content strategy is about planning for all the different content that will go into a website including words, images, sound, and other media. It is an emerging field of practice in web development. It is often aligned with information architecture.

[Franck Chauvel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Janice explains use how to write web content that does not drive your readers away. The core idea is simple: Write the conversation you would have if your reader was in front of you. Answer questions, use active voice, use plain language, etc. She also details a 'grand' strategy for larger groups: define a content strategy and test usability often, as often as you reasonably can.

In my view, the book reads well. I think the advices about writing style can also be found—with more details probably— in other books such as The Elements of Style , On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction or Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer to name a few. Still, I believe the book provides a good overview of the pitfalls of writing web content, especially for beginners.

[Stringy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have to write any sort of online content but you're more used to writing in an academic, business or personal style, this is the book for you. It's also a great book if you have the job of editing (or just chopping the word count) other people's writing and don't want to offend them!

Redish explains the differences between the way people read reports or books and the way they read a website. Visitors to your website will skim and seek until they find the information they're looking for, rather than reading instructions carefully. Redish tells you how to cater to this reading style without losing any vital information.

Some of the topics she covers are old news to long-time web writers like me. But I think she explains those topics well and uses meaningful metaphors to explain the whys and hows.

The content that was new to me was also explained well. I particularly like the idea of structuring content like it's a question and answer session between you and your user, rather than a sales pitch or a seduction or whatever the social-media-gurus are hyping this week.

[Aaron Gertler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judging by the reviews here, this isn't a good read for full-time professional web writers.

Fortunately, I'm only a freelance web writer, and I loved "Letting Go of the Words". The author writes like she tells you to write. Each chapter ends with a beautiful one-page summary; if you take a picture of each summary page, you can skim through the photos every few months and get back up to speed on the book. The sample websites Redish edits in front of you feel realistic: We've all seen content, written by serious people for serious reasons, that looks as bad as the first drafts here.

This was published before the mobile web became a thing, and before the peak of SEO mania, so you won't hear much about those subjects. But the lessons here seem to be timeless, and it's hard to imagine that any non-professional won't learn something from the book. (You can skim a few sections without missing much, but the formatting and index make it very easy to skim -- again, Redish follows her own advice.)

[Matty Pants · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janice Redish does an excellent job of guiding her readers through every stage of writing user-friendly Web content.

Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works addresses all elements of audience-focused content creation, including:

- Writing Web-friendly copy
- Site structure
- User-friendly design
- Information formatting

Big picture considerations (such as the audience you are writing for) are given as much attention as the crucial details of proper text formatting conventions.

Chapters are summarized and plenty of examples and case studies are found throughout the book. I strongly recommend it to anyone serious about improving the impact of their online presence.

[Dhuaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hoped for a comprehensive batch of guidelines for writing good content for the web. What I got was a rehash of what I had already known from other sources, plus a tiny bit of new stuff - maybe 10 or 15 pages total.

This book focuses almost solely on usability - and on usability of public-purpose websites, government sites, informational sites, and the like. There's pretty much nothing about e-commerce. There's nothing about SEO - usability guidelines for content writing often conflict with SEO guidelines, but there are no mentions of that.

Sure, the book is very good if you know little about content writing, but IMHO there are better resources out there that will tell you everything Redish's book contains and more. I recommend Jakob Nielsen's books.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an author, I was already pretty grounded in a lot of the ideas that Redish draws from.

However. This book is solid, solid, solid. If you write anything {not just web content} for anyone else to read--emails, blogs, Facebook event descriptions, memoirs--read this book. It's never boring and full of clear examples that demonstrate how bad can go to good, and how good can go to great.

This is not a book about good grammar. This is a book about good communication. Useful, concise, and unapologetic, this book should be on every shelf and an annual reading plan. If you're a writer already, this will hone your skills. If you only put words down when forced, this will ensure that your reader sticks around.

Excellent.

[webslog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Executive summary:

-Info should be chunked (lede sentence and 3 bullets)
-write to your reader's expectations.
-Know who your reader is and, most importantly, what headspace they're occupying when they read your site. Buying? Shopping? Info-grazing? Researching?

Useful for the links to other sites that do (and don't do) well the points being illustrated in the book.

Shorter on research and similarly useful info that can be used internally when jockeying for major changes in the way the site communicates.

Would have benefitted from a more cross-disciplinary approach, bringing in info from designers, typographers, linguists, etc.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: I just read the second edition. Redish did a fantastic job, updating, revising and 'letting go' of stuff that would change before a third edition. Great job!
_________________________________
I've been a Ginny Redish fan for a long time. The best supervisor I ever had lived by Ginny's recommendations. While I don't agree with every recommendation in this book, I agree with most of them. This is a great reference book. And its also worth reading cover-to-cover. Overall Ginny has good ideas that will help you improve your Web sites...especially if you manage jargon filled gov. sites.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, quick, well organized book on writing for the Web. Individual chapters would be a great resource for those teaching Web writing.

I love the grab and go concept. And charts and checklists that I can easily share with my communications team are very helpful.

It's amazing how quickly the examples in the book look dated. Hopefully time for another edition soon!

Redish also spoke at a conference I recently attended, with a focus on plain language, proving that the information and approaches provided in the book are still relevant today.

[Curtis Newbold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book for the first time in my undergraduate Web Design & Site Development course. Redish's book is wonderfully accessible and full of useful and effective examples, both good and bad. For a textbook, it reads fast and uses a successful organization for each chapter, both of which my students seemed to appreciate. Towards the end of the book some of the content is repetitive ("use the user's words!"), but it doesn't affect the book's overall quality. I WILL use this textbook again, and may even do so in my Master's classes.

[Marlinex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to come home to a box from Amazon this afternoon with two new books inside, including Letting Go of the Words. I flipped through this and think it will be an excellent resource for my staff to keep them thinking about how to creatively use content to create usable web pages. There's lots of good "dos and don'ts" illustrations and examples. Plus, it has a forward written by "Don't Make Me Think" author Steve Krug. I'll keep reading and report back.

[Emilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought parts of this book were very helpful. Some of it seemed unrelated to the thesis of the book, though, which is why I only gave it 3 stars. Web content design and usability are of great interest to me, so I had already read or talked about much of what this book discusses. One thing I found frustrating and unhelpful was how much she belabored certain points. I wanted something a bit more concise.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of, if not *the* best book on best practices for web content. I mainly use it as a reference book, but last year I decided to read it cover to cover to see if I'd missed anything. This book doesn't contain anything new for folks with a background in content usability, but it's an invaluable resource when working with people who're just encountering that concept for the first time. I felt like I was receiving a nice refresher course from Ginny every time I dipped into it.

[Joshua Pitzalis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a cult following. I asked around for books to help me learn how to write for the web and this book would be mentioned without fail. Reading it in 2015, it is hopelessly outdated. Most of the links in the book no longer work. Some of the principles are great but most of them speak about an internet that no longer exists. It was written in 2007, but the internet has changed so drastically that I don't think its worth reading any more.

[Margaret Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really helpful book. I have to return it to the library, so I had to skim parts that I would rather have read closely. It's not telling you anything you don't already know or suspect if you work on the web, but lots of nice examples and checklists to make sure you aren't forgetting anything.

[Junda Ong · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are too much unnecessary stuff that are not to do with good writing. Disappointed with the content.

Only a few good points about writing that I remembered:
- Gender neutral wring. Use "you", plural, "the/a/an" and verb phase.
- Use active voice instead of passive
- "who does what to whom" instead of "object .. by .."

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thankfully, this book transcends evolving interwebz technologies and it's a decent enough primer. It is, however, very high-level. Read it if you know nothing about optimizing content for the web, or if you're bored and feeling inconsequential and need a reminder that you really already do know everything and are still just as smart as you used to be.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ginny has perfectly laid out effective web writing that more people should follow! Be sure to pick up this book if you are a web designer OR even someone who is curious how to write online as a novice. Excellent!

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair, I didn't read this book, I only scanned it; however, I didn't see anything ground-breaking in it. I love Reddish, but this just seemed like a rehash of the stuff we hear all the time in this profession.

[Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read with many examples and plain language. Some aspects of the book didn't entirely relate to the project I was working on, but that was fine; the book was really helpful in trying to understand usability more. Loved all the examples!

[Bill Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good advice here for those with no experience writing web content. But the book is pretty simplistic and much of the advice amounts to common sense. A good primer for the first-time web author. Too basic for nearly everyone else.

[Meryl Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommendations from several experts and friends. Thorough resource useful for web content people to ensure they don't miss anything or to find answers if they are not sure of the best way to do something. Mostly common sense.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the examples in this one better than the Killer Web Copy book, though they profiled a lot of the same concepts.

Gives basic, easy-to-follow instructions on how to make your website content easier to read and browse.