Linking Effectively in Hypertextual Environments
Linking is clearly an element of hypertext which separates it from standard textual
documents. When writing to the web, links can be as important as the content of your page.
In order to learn how to use links effectively, we need to ask ourselves some basic
questions; Who are we linking to? What is the purpose of the links? Where should we
place our links within our documents? When should we link? And why do we need (or not
need) certain links?
In class on February 15,
Amelia DeLoach, Links Editor
of Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine spoke to our
class regarding the many issues and decisions involved in making links
in hypertextual environments. She offered us some insight into these questions, let us
examine them.
- Who are we linking to? Often the pages we link to can affect our credibility as
authors and the credibility of the content of our work. For instance, if I were writing a
web about Ford cars some links would be more appropriate than others. A link to someone's
homepage with his or her comments on a new Ford would not have as much impact to a
reader as a link to Car and Driver's review of the new Ford cars. Who we choose to
link to can affect the overall percieved content of our webs.
- What is the purpose of a link? Links put the hyper in hypertext, when we write in such
environments we should use links to expand the scope our our writing. Among the uses of
links: to let our readers know more about a topic, explore similar topics, give feedback to authors, and
provide references from directly within our documents. However when used improperly links can
make a simple textual document a hypertextual nightmare. Using too many links can destroy user
control and can serve to sidetrack your readers from the purpose of your documents. Links
should serve a purpose and they should be used with care in order to enhance a document.
Different webs require different links for different purposes and guidlines vary accordingly.
- Where should we place links within our documents? HTML gives us the ability to make almost
any element within a document a link, however there may be times when links are more
appropriate in one place within a document than another. Should we place our reference links
directly within the body of the text, or should we designate a place within our web to leave
all such links? Inappropriate links might include ones which are non-intuitive (a word is a
link, but you have no idea where it is going), or links which appears too many times in a
document adding visual clutter. When placing links within a document the author might want to
look at the document from the reader's perspective: If I was reading this, would this link here
be worth clicking? Does placing this link here enhance the content of my document or detract
from it?
- When should we link? Before we deal with content issues and links, we need to ask ourselves
some very basic questions about the links within our documents. An important issue when writing
hypertext: does everything fit together? Is our web easy to navigate? Do the links within a
document help it fit nicely within the web as a whole? Are the links relavent and usuable?
- Why link? Here is a brief list of possible uses for links within your documents:
- User control and navigatability within a document
- Help build the credibility of your documents
- Provide futher sources of information
- Allow readers to explore similar topics
- Allow reader feedback
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