Stay clear of “click here”

The most common way to manage the links on a Web page is represented by this to innocent looking little words. They are the popular choice with the vast majority of people, but that doesn’t mean that they are also the right choice. These two words have the ability to completely fragment the natural flow of any document. The only time they should ever be used on a Web page is when you advise people not to use them.

Title tags and “inter-paragraph” links is to way to go

One of the best ways to include links on a Web page is to finish writing the text, and then go back and add links by highlighting certain words or text elements. In this way the readers can be offered with more information without having to cope with upsetting links. Also, if you use title tags in your HREF, people with title enabled browsers will thank you from the bottom or their hearts for saving them valuable time.

Make it personal

The best way to let people know that there is a person behind the text they are reading is to offer them an easy way to contact you. If it is OK by you, a picture of yourself would be a great boost in this direction. You have to be careful though, because if you give out to much information you might end up in every mailing list in the country. Whatever you decide to do, a name is mandatory if you don’t want to see you efforts go unrewarded by your readers.

Great surfing

There are many aspects related to good navigation on the Web but I think two of this are most important. Don’t bother to create a great table of contents because the only thing it will guarantee is to turn you into a tour guide. Part of the Web’s beauty is not knowing were a link will take you next. Also, as I mentioned before, try to integrate links directly into your text, thus escaping the big “no-no” of reminding people where to go by inserting the expression “click here”. Let that experience come to readers in a natural way, driven by their thurst for information.