Guerrilla Marketing

by Jay Conrad Levinson

If you're planning your own page on the Worldwide Web (and who isn't these days), think about how best to present your information to the largest audience. You can't assume that everyone has high-speed access to the Web. You can't even assume that everyone has graphical access to the Web. There are lots of people out there in cyberspace with Lynx browsers, or whose only Web access is via a Telnet connection to a text-based browser. Here are some ideas about designing for accessibility.

• Identify your page. Along with a page title, include a few lines of text right at the top of the page that tells people what you're offering. Don't make people scroll down the page or click a link or two just to find out what you're offering.
• Make graphics optional. If your Web page doesn't make as much sense without graphics as it does with them, you're alienating millions of people using text-based Web browsers. Even those with graphical browsers may want to view a text version of your page if they can do so more quickly.
• Identify graphics. Below each graphic, include a line of text that describes the graphic and says how large it is, so readers can decide whether or not to download it. I hate waiting 20 seconds to get an image of a logo or some other non-essential information.
• Make graphics small. I've seldom seen a full-screen logo or picture that was worth the time it took to download it. Every page on your Web site should have text information. Text-first browsers like Netscape will get the text right away, and your readers will have something to do while any graphics are downloading more slowly.
• Don't waste screen space. Graphic designers love "white space" to give a sense of freedom or grace in print, but most cybernauts would rather get more information on one screen than having to scroll through several screens of elegantly-spaced lines. Spaces should separate chunks of information to avoid confusion, but space for its own sake is a waste of bandwidth.