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Use of links

It is important to restrict the number of links (sometimes referred to as fan-out) in each document. Have mercy on your readers and bear in mind that people can only keep track of a finite number of ideas at a time; it is commonly accepted that most people have trouble dealing with more than seven. If each document has a dozen links to other documents each having a dozen links... You don't have to be a mathematician to realize that, even though browsers allow backtracking, your reader could still get hopelessly lost in hyperspace.

Try to make it as obvious as possible what sort of information is hidden behind a link, so that readers can make an informed choice about whether to follow it.

One of the more unappealing aspects of the Web is the `Click Here' syndrome. If a document is downloaded and printed, the phrase immediately becomes redundant, and it is also inappropriate when the document is viewed with a browser that is not controlled with a mouse. The use of `Click Here' should be avoided. It is generally better to finish writing the text before adding the links to ensure more natural-sounding prose.

Spinning the Web by Andrew Ford
© 1995 International Thomson Publishing
© 2002 Andrew Ford and Ford & Mason Ltd
Note: this HTML document was generated in December 1994 directly from the LaTeX source files using LaTeX2HTML. It was formatted into our standard page layout using the Template Toolkit. The document is mainly of historical interest as obviously many of the sites mentioned have long since disappeared.