Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies)

I had to purchase this book as a class text and I must say I enjoy reading the content. I got the kindle version, and as another reviewer said, the pictures are all too small to see clearly, so I do not benefit from whatever they are trying to convey. While I must skip all pictures, even while reading on my 17 inch screen laptop (they are just so small) I must mark it down a star. Otherwise, the author is easy to read and understand, writes in a manner that is enjoyable (is not boring and does not feel like a text book) and has great advice and examples about making your websites cater to the user experience. Like another reviewer, I found it ironic that the author teaches about user experience and accessibility yet includes "too small" photos and diagrams for the digital version of the book -- swings and misses big time there. I think it is a handy, well written text book on creating concise, clear website content that any web content creator will benefit from. I wish I had bought the text version instead to keep around for future reference. I recommend.

I write web copy for a living and love this book.Why?Because it's:1) Practical - I use the advice here almost every day at work writing copy for websites.2) Evergreen - Even as websites evolve, nothing here will go out of style. You may add on to it, but this is truly evergreen content.3) Clear - The book practices what it preaches, presenting the information you need with lots of subheads and bullets.If you write anything that goes on a website—or even plan what goes on the website (like a content strategist)— the buy this book.P.S: If you have the first edition, this book is still worth buying. They added tons of extra content.

I was flabbergasted to see anyone write a one-star rating. I write technical material professionally. For the digital age, this is the best book I have come across. It is easy to access for beginners. It has good examples for emerging writers. It even has embedded some ideas that advanced writers will be able to spot and use. My favorite is the knot tying animation with progressive text in figure 13-17. Perhaps the person with the low rating was trying to write a school paper. Then, I would agree. For that purpose, Cal Newport's "How to Become a Straight "A" student wins honors. But for Web content, this is it.

Amazing. Great book. I work freelance as an editor of web content, and I have yet to find a better book explaining this style.

I teach employees how to write better (usually technical writing but often business writing, too). I know what I know about good writing, or so I think--but it was great to have most of my long-held beliefs verified by Ginny's book. I was happy to stand corrected on a few of my misconceptions, too. I know Ginny writes about websites, but her principles also work on paper, because everyone needs to practice "Letting Go of the Words" in favor of more visual representations aimed at the audience. When my adult learners ask for documentation of the principles that I teach, I always send them to Ginny's book.Bette FrickThe Text Doctor LLC

I got this book on the recommendation of Steve Krug in  Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition) (Voices That Matter) . He said it was the definitive book for web writing, including blog content and it does do a great job of explaining that. My only issue is, for a book titled "Letting Go Of The Words," this book is repetitive and long-winded. There are plenty of examples, many of them related to the author's fixes of other people's websites. Many of the examples are "Case Studies," so they are multiple pages long. Others are small and hard to read, which is interesting considering how often the author points out the importance of accessibility in your content. For someone with ADD, it was also hard to get through the uninteresting content of the examples like insurance information and tax pages. You are encouraged to read these paragraphs so that you can understand the changes she's making and why.Ms. Redish talks about busy people skimming your website content and I found myself skimming before I was halfway through the book. The information is solid and there's definitely good advice, although, as another reviewer points out, not new information. It's just too repetitive and therefore too long.

I'm using this as a textbook for one of my web design classes. This will be one of my textbooks that I keep when class is over. It has a lot of handy information for those needing more information on what types of content to put on their websites, and how to organize it. It will help make your website more user friendly, and provides a lot of examples to understand why some things work and others don't. Highly recommended.

This book is amazingly helpful. It really makes you think about how people search for and use information on your website. I feel so much more confident making design recommendations at work after reading this book.

As a communications trainer who gives courses on writing for the web, I can't recommend this book enough. Clear, succinct and insightful, Janice Redish is so sure of what she wants to convey that the ideas leap off the page. And what great ideas they are. The narrative about 'conversations' that users bring with them when they visit a site is nothing short of brilliant and shapes all the pointers she gives at every stage.

It's good to help writing. World of tweets so we need to learn to let go of words.

Found this book so useful and full of ideas, some obvious, many not so. Helps with the understanding of what makes web site visitors engage, what turns them off and how to basically 'do it properly'. A constant source of reference.

The principles are sound, but some of the suggestions regarding HTML can't be implemented without breaking some technical best practices.

this book was a great help to me in preparing my website

Considered an indispensable classic when it comes to writing for the Web. It is very good! Although the need to write rapdily 'scannable' copy tends to be driven by commercial imperatives. There should be more to the Web...

Another good book

You would expect a book like this to be easy to navigate and enjoyable and it didn't disappoint. I am still working through the book which is chocked full of brilliant advice. There will be much that doesn't apply to you (she is after all offering advice that large and small companies can benefit from) but there will be enough to justify the purchase.[...]

As a Toastmaster and web author I am always looking for books that help me write better prose and speeches. I haven't taken this off my kindle yet and don't plan to. This book is up there with "the Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr and "Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace" If you write or speak you need these 3 books in your library.

« Successful web experiences are conversations. »Partant du postulat selon lequel ‘Content = Conversation’, Janice Redish vous présente les principes fondamentaux pour structurer votre contenu et rédiger des textes clairs, concis et qui parleront à vos utilisateurs.Tout au long de l’ouvrage, l’auteure prête une attention particulière au référencement naturel (SEO) et à l’accessibilité de l’information. Elle analyse de nombreux cas concrets et vous fait bénéficier de sa longue expérience en copywriting et tests d’utilisabilité.Vous vous initierez à la méthode du ‘Bite, snack, meal’ et verrez comment créer du contenu ‘remarkable’ qui répondra aux questions de vos visiteurs, les poussera à l’action et soutiendra vos objectifs business.Vous apprendrez également à :- utiliser le design et les images pour renforcer vos propos ;- poursuivre la conversation en encourageant la découverte de votre offre ;- faire en sorte que vos visiteurs reviennent sur votre site.Ensuite, vous parcourrez les bonnes pratiques pour réviser vos textes et rédiger un ‘style guide’ qui garantira la consistance de vos écrits à travers votre site, vos applications et les réseaux sociaux.Enfin, vous découvrirez comment mesurer l’efficacité de vos écrits grâce aux tests d’utilisabilité. Le mot d’ordre : testez, testez, testez…

Great practical advice​.

Lots of useful information.

This is a go-to for every Web writer. However, the design is horrible.

Aquello que nos enseña es lo importante, para mi gusto un poco desorganizado, pero muy interesante. Los estilos, las webs, son demasiado antiguas.

Leider hat das mit diesem Buch überhaupt nicht geklappt. Ich habe 3mal das Buch bestellt und zurück schicken müssen,weil die Bindung der Druckwerks sich auflöst. Jedes 3.Blatt fällt aus dem Buch, wenn man es umblättern möchte. Auch nach einem Gespräch mit amazon konnte kein mängelfreies Exemplar aufgetrieben und ausgeliefert werden. Echt ärgerlich!Das Buch selbst soll ja sehr gut sein und wird vielfach sogar als Standard-Nachschlagewerk empfohlen, aber unter diesen Umständen geht das nicht. Letztendlich besitze ich das Buch immernoch nicht und konnte es nicht lesen.