Designing for Online Vs. Print

(online)

VS.

(print)

The way audience read online and printing is very different. According to Dr Jacob Nielsen's study, 79% of web users only scan a webpage instead of reading thoroughly. This is because reading from the computer's monitor is 25% slower than reading from print and also staring too long at the monitors can increase eye strain. Based on his study, he found that web readers are three times more likely to limit in-depth reading to short paragraphs than newspaper readers. This is because online content has no 'control' over what the audience has to read. Print content controls what the audience is reading and what they are going to read whereas online content allows the audience to be the active. Example of a badly design websites:

(source from: http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/)

This website demonstrate what makes up worst website.
Click on the picture to further view the website.

Improvement
Ways to improve online content to be more appealing to the audience is by improving its scannability. According to Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006), element such as arrangement and visual appearance of writing contributes to meaning. In the first and second law of Gestalt by Bernhardt (1986), stated that balance or equilibrium with other elements in the field and a good contrast is important so that the audience doesn't have to strive for closure. According to Nielsen, the information displayed on the websites should be simple and precise.


Which is better?
Neither is better than the other because everyone has different interest. Some people prefer reading the print content like newspapers while others prefer reading online.

Reference List:
1. Bernhardt, S.A 1986, 'Seeing the text', College Composition and Communication, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 66-78

2. Kress, G. & V Leeuwen, T. 2006, Reading Images, Chapter 6: The meaning of composition

3. Nielsen, J, 1997. How Users Read on the Web. Viewed on 1 May 2008 at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

4. Redshaw, K 2003, Web Writing vs Print Writing, Kerryr.net, viewed on 1 May 2008 at http://www.kerryr.net/webwriting/guide_web-vs-print.htm