INFORMATIVE

Informative text

The text on science websites should be informative without being too difficult to read or boring. Style of writing should be somewhat entertaining and clearly to the point.
Images should be used to dress up the text. Also, it should be age appropriate. It is recommended that the style of writing is kept at least somewhat entertaining and that images are used to dress up the text. Websites should communicate clearly and to the point. Spelling and grammar should be correct.

All text, images, tables and figures should have headings or captions that can be read independently of the information provided in the text so that users can quickly determine the content without reading the whole text. Organization of the text should be clear on all pages not just the front-page. Clear organization can include easily readable chunks of text with appropriate space between paragraphs and perhaps images in between them. First impressions matter and with the ubiquity of search engines, the front page is not necessarily the first page users see.

Articles on science websites can include a number of words that the reader is not familiar with. Having links inside or next to these words leading to explanations of terms can be very helpful. It should however be noted that too many links in the body of the text can be counterproductive as young people might find it hard to work out what the site itself actually says.