Concise, Scannable, Objective Copy Improved Usability 124%
Web copy that was concise, scannable, and objective at the same time improved measured usability by 124% (Nielsen Norman Group, 1997). Each change helped on its own, but the largest gain came from making all three together.
What the research observed
Nielsen Norman Group measured usability for several writing styles and reported the effect of each change (Nielsen Norman Group, 1997):
- Concise text, using about half the words, improved usability by 58%.
- Scannable layout, with formatting that lets visitors pick out key points, improved it by 47%.
- Objective language, without promotional claims, improved it by 27%.
- All three combined improved it by 124%.
The combined result is larger than any single change, so the three improvements add to each other rather than overlapping. The same study found that most users scan rather than read, which helps explain why cutting words and adding structure both matter.
The figures come from a 1997 study, so treat them as the size of the effect in that test, not a predicted result for your own site.
What it means for a business website
Typical small business copy has all three problems at once. It is long, it is written in paragraphs, and it leans on claims such as “industry-leading,” “best-in-class,” or “we go above and beyond.” Visitors have to read past the claims to find facts, and they have to read past the length to find anything at all.
Fixing only the layout, or only trimming a few words, leaves most of the available improvement unused.
What to do
- Cut the word count on your key pages roughly in half, keeping the facts and removing filler.
- Replace claims with facts a customer can check: services, service area, hours, pricing, and turnaround times.
- Format what remains with subheadings, short paragraphs, and lists.
- Make all three changes in the same revision rather than one at a time.
Sources
- Nielsen. How Users Read on the Web. Nielsen Norman Group, 1997.