January 13th, 2009 PLEASE FORWARD
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Tips, Tricks, News and Reviews for Web Coders
by Kevin Yank (techtimes@sitepoint.com)
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http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=3&issue=223
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INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If the surging listener numbers on The SitePoint Podcast #6:
What to do about IE6 [1] are any indication, a lot of you are
hoping to ditch support for IE6 this year. If you've yet to do
so already, give it a listen!
Meanwhile, here in this issue of the Tech Times, Andrew takes a
look at good old hyperlinks. The Web, after all, is all about
links, so make sure your links are as good as they can be!
[1] <http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/09/sitepoint-podcast-6-what-to-do-about-internet-explorer-6/>
IN THIS ISSUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- Introduction
- Crimes Against Hypertext
- New Technical Articles
- Techy Forum Threads
- More Techy Blog Entries
CRIMES AGAINST HYPERTEXT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
by Andrew Tetlaw
Just like Information Superhighway and cyberspace, the terms
hyperlink and hypertext seem to have dropped out of fashion.
Despite this, hypertext is still the foundation of the Web --
one of its core features. The humble HTML <a> tag is the sole
element that produces the hyperlinks that change plain text into
hypertext. It still surprises and annoys me when such a central
feature of a web page seems to be taken for granted. Poor
linking practices are common -- editorially and visually -- and
it has a direct negative impact on usability.
THE ROGUES GALLERY
It's time to out these outlaws, so here is my rogues gallery of
hypertext -- all of them wanted criminals for crimes against
usability!
The Tautology
The tautology link is not a new innovation, but it may appear
suddenly, without warning, in a block of hypertext. You may have
seen hypertext that looks like this:
You can find two great examples <a href="/">here</a> and
<a href="/">here</a>. <a href="/">Click here</a> for another one!
A hyperlink implies a destination that is reachable by clicking
the link; the tautology link only serves to state the obvious!
The Leisure-suit
The leisure-suit link just points vaguely. You're on your own if
you want to follow it. Here's an example:
In fact, you can <a href="/">find</a> <a href="/">so</a>
a href="/">many</a> <a href="/">examples</a> of poor linking
you may think the world no longer cares.
Too lazy to write meaningful hypertext? Just link a whole bunch
of words and let the user deal with it.
The Middle-man
Some authors prefer to contract their hypertext out to a middle
man. There's a place for URL shortening services, sites like
Twitter [1], for example, but there's no excuse for using them
in your hypertext. In the absence of any other context the user
can fall back to examining the URL of a link. Taking that away
by using a URL shortening service is the equivalent of sending
them down the river without a paddle.
The Interference
You often see this in web sites like Wikipedia [2] and
Everything2 [3] -- words that are linked to information that has
little relevance to the surrounding text. For example:
We all know that hyperlinks are the
<a href="/a_page_about_glue">glue</a> that holds the Web
together.
More rogues after the break ...
[1] <http://twitter.com/>
[2] <http://wikipedia.org/>
[3] <http://everything2.com/>
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The Departed
Against the departed, hypertext never has a chance. Have you
noticed that many mainstream news media web sites refer to other
web sites without providing links in the article body text? Call
that hypertext? It's a massacre!
The Stalker
You'll only see a stalker link when you're right on top of
it! This one is becoming less common, but you still see examples
occasionally. The stalker link is so similar in appearance to
the surrounding text, you'd never even know it's there.
The Telemarketer
The scourge of hypertext, the telemarketer link includes a
hovering box displaying a thumbnail preview of the target web
page. What possible use is there for a small blurry thumbnail of
the link target that pops-up and obscures the surrounding text?
And what about those double-underlined advertising links? Users
should never have to experience those.
THE GOOD HYPERLINK
Poor quality hypertext is a usability disaster causing
annoyance, confusion, and anxiety. Users expect links, and that
the links will be relevant and useful. A good hyperlink is
relevant to the surrounding text and provides enough information
for the user to make an informed decision about whether to leave
the current page they're on and follow.
Here's an example of a useful hyperlink:
For excellent examples of finely crafted hypertext look no
further than <a href="http://kottke.org/">kottke.org, the online
home of Jason Kottke</a>.
The linked text must have relevance, as it's the first hint the
user will receive as to the nature of the link. The test of good
link text is whether it can stand alone on a page, outside of the
hypertext of which it's a part of, and still make sense.
Links must also be styled differently to the surrounding text.
They can be another color than blue, as long as it’s
different to the normal text, and that all the links in the page
are the same color, so they'll be clearly visible.
A title attribute is optional, but should be used independently
from providing a context because the tool tip only appears when
using the mouse. If the link text is sufficient, it’s
unnecessary anyway.
Well-crafted hypertext is simple to read and use, and frankly,
simple to create!
Are you guilty of crimes against hypertext? Comment on the blog
entry:
Web Tech Blog: Technically Speaking
by Andrew Tetlaw
Crimes Against Hypertext
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/?p=3882
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See you next week for another issue of the Tech Times!
Kevin Yank
techtimes@sitepoint.com
Editor, SitePoint Tech Times
NEW TECHNICAL ARTICLES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mobile Web Design: Be Swift About It!
by Halla Kolbeinsdotir
Halla Kolbeinsdottir looks at what's happening in the mobile web
industry, and explores a free online tool that makes it possible
for anyone to create their own personalized, standards-compliant
web site that works across all mobile phones. Now, you can
impress your friends with your own mobile web site. That's
exciting!
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1698
8 Definitive Web Font Stacks
by Michael Tuck
In this article, Michael introduces the idea of using font
stacks to expand the number of typefaces you can use in your web
designs. Try out these structured collections of fonts, and give
more of your users a richer typographic experience today!
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1697
TECHY FORUM THREADS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Accessibility competency testing at work - anyone done it?
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=592883>
Mobile Web Design: Be Swift About It!
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=593890>
Test Your CSS skills quiz #9
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=593578>
Podcast #6: What to do about Internet Explorer 6
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=593455>
8 Definitive Web Font Stacks
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=592968>
Is Using PNG Files Common?
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=591849>
MORE TECHY BLOG ENTRIES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
News & Trends Blog: INDUSTRY NEWS FOR WEB PROFESSIONALS
Report: SaaS to Take Off This Year
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/13/report-saas-to-take-off-this-year/
Firefox Drops Google in Russia (3 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/13/firefox-drops-google-in-russia/
Surprisingly, Younger Users Care More About Privacy (7 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/11/surprisingly-younger-users-care-more-about-privacy/
The Future of Music: Don't Forget About NIN (4 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/10/the-future-of-music-dont-forget-about-nin/
How to Find Breaking News on Twitter (4 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/09/how-to-find-breaking-news-on-twitter/
Kuler Adds Cool Data Visualization (3 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/09/kuler-adds-cool-data-visualization/
New York Times Releases Another API
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/09/new-york-times-releases-another-api/
Two Trillion Reasons Why KIDO'Z Will Succeed (56 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/09/kidoz/
The Internet is Taking the Shine off of Apple (9 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/08/the-internet-is-taking-the-shine-off-of-apple/
The Future of the Music Business: Soulja Boy? (12 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/08/the-future-of-the-music-business-soulja-boy/
Podcast Blog: THE SITEPOINT PODCAST
SitePoint Podcast #6: What to do about Internet Explorer 6 (17
comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/09/sitepoint-podcast-6-what-to-do-about-internet-explorer-6/
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