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Blah-Blah Text: Keep, Cut, or Kill? (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

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Saved by 6 people (1 private), first by anonymouse user on 2007-12-26


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Summary:
Introductory text on Web pages is usually too long, so users skip it. But short intros can increase usability by explaining the remaining content's purpose.

The introductory paragraph(s) found at the top of many Web pages is what I call blah-blah text: a block of words that users typically skip when they arrive at a page. Instead, their eyes go directly to more actionable content, such as product features, bulleted lists, or hypertext links.

The worst kind of blah-blah has no function; it's pure filler — platitudes, such as "Welcome to our site, we hope you will find our new and improved design helpful."

Kill the welcome mat and cut to the chase.

Highlighted by eyalnow

The worst kind of blah-blah has no function; it's pure filler — platitudes, such as "Welcome to our site, we hope you will find our new and improved design helpful."

Kill the welcome mat and cut to the chase.

Highlighted by fulvius

A brief introduction can help users better understand the rest of the page. Even if they skip it initially, they might return later if it doesn't look intimidatingly long and dense. If you keep it short, a bit of blah might actually work. So, prune your initial draft of marketese and focus on answering two questions:
  • What? (What will users find on this page — i.e., what's its function?)
  • Why? (Why should they care — i.e., what's in it for them?)

Highlighted by fulvius

Intro text has a valid role in that it helps set the context for content and thus answer the question: What's the page about?

Highlighted by eyalnow

A brief introduction can help users better understand the rest of the page. Even if they skip it initially, they might return later if it doesn't look intimidatingly long and dense. If you keep it short, a bit of blah might actually work. So, prune your initial draft of marketese and focus on answering two questions:
  • What? (What will users find on this page — i.e., what's its function?)
  • Why? (Why should they care — i.e., what's in it for them?)

Highlighted by eyalnow