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HomeGuidelines > 3. Cook up hot links. > 3a. Make clear what the user will get from a link > Challenges + Answers         

 

Diagram

Background

Examples

Audience Fit

Challenges

Bonus! Hot Text chapter (146K, PDF, 2.5 minutes at 56K)

Challenges

In an imaginative paragraph, make up teaser text giving context and several link names for one of the following.

(a)

An overview of the software that allows administrators to pick products, specify quantities, and assign them to stores, in an automated warehouse.

Answers

 

(a)

Our software automates your warehouse, letting you

  • Pick products
  • Specify quantities
  • Assign the products to specific stores
 

(b)

A 750-word article on painting and drawing software for 7-10 year olds, with references to reviews of three new titles on a Web site with articles about children’s software.

 

(b)

Is your little one the next Picasso? Find out which software will appeal to your 7-10 year old. We review three new programs:

  • Disney Does Electronic Crayons: A silly but fun introduction to painting on the computer for beginners only.
  • I am a Painter: Advanced techniques for the serious artist, with great surprises
  • Make Me Another Painting: Encouraging, friendly, full of great templates for fast results
 

(c)

Three press releases from your current organization, for the top of the Press page.

 

(c)

Our latest press releases:

  • Emergency Care Joins Rx Planet: The $8 million ambulance service extends our reach.
  • Rx Planet Offers Medicaid Insurance: We help folks get more prescriptions covered.
  •  Rx Planet Cleared: The attorney general of Missouri has dropped all charges in the case of a nursing home.
 

(d)

A summary of the three software simulation tools that model radiation, material, and heat flows in nuclear explosions.

 

(d)

We have released three programs simulating three aspects of nuclear explosions:

  • The Radiation Model: Track radiation moment to moment.
  • The Material Model: Watch physical and chemical reactions, real time.
  • The Heat Flow Model: Monitor the movement of heat during the blast
   

Other ways to make links hot

3b. Within a sentence, make the link the emphatic element.

3c. Shift focus from the links or linked-to documents to the subject.

3d. Provide depth and breadth through plentiful links to related information within your site.

3e. Establish credibility by offering outbound links.

3f. Make meta information public.

3g. Write URLs that humans can read.

3h. Make links accessible.

3i. Tell people about a media object before they download.

3j. Announce the new with special links.

3k. Write meta-tags to have your pages found.

Resources on writing links

Taking a Position on Links

Heuristic Online Text (HOT) Evaluation for Links

Poster

 

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