Test Readability
 
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Check that your content is easily comprehended by your target audience.  
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Check that your content is adequately understood by your target audience.  
=== What Problem This Solves  ===
=== What Problem This Solves  ===
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Asking your users if they understand your content may not produce accurate results ([http://www.alistapart.com/articles/testing-content/ source]), but there are other methods for estimating readability.  
Asking your users if they understand your content may not produce accurate results ([http://www.alistapart.com/articles/testing-content/ source]), but there are other methods for estimating readability.  
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Online tools - such as those by [http://juicystudio.com/services/readability.php Juicy Studios] or [http://www.addedbytes.com/code/readability-score/ Added Bytes] - use reading-level algorithms to automatically score the readability of your content. These give you a useful indication, especially for comparing relative scores for numerous content items (e.g. to identify the potential 'worst'), but shouldn't be relied on for critical content.  
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Online tools - such as those by [http://juicystudio.com/services/readability.php Juicy Studios] or [http://www.addedbytes.com/code/readability-score/ Added Bytes] - use reading-level algorithms to automatically score the readability of your content. These give you a useful indication, especially for comparing relative scores across content items (e.g. to identify the potential 'worst'), but shouldn't be relied on for assessing critical content.  
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A more time-consuming but accurate solution is to perform a small usability test, by asking sample users to read your content and then quiz them with questions to test their comprehension. You could even integrate a survey module onto relevant pages to semi-automate this process.  
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A more time-consuming but accurate solution is to perform a small usability test: ask sample users to read your content and then quiz them to test their comprehension. You could even integrate a survey module onto relevant pages to semi-automate this process.  
You could also consider a Cloze test, which is an "''assessment consisting of a portion of text with certain words removed, where the participant is asked to replace the missing words''" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloze_test source]). [http://www.alistapart.com/articles/testing-content/ Read more about how to conduct a cloze test for web content].  
You could also consider a Cloze test, which is an "''assessment consisting of a portion of text with certain words removed, where the participant is asked to replace the missing words''" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloze_test source]). [http://www.alistapart.com/articles/testing-content/ Read more about how to conduct a cloze test for web content].  
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=== Why Use This Pattern  ===
=== Why Use This Pattern  ===
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We frequently test the features and user experience of a website, but often assume that the content - often the primary component of a website - is correct. By testing only a small sample of your content, you can quickly adjust your writing style to better meet the needs of your users.<br>
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We frequently test the features and user experience of a website, but often assume that the content - usually the primary component of a website - is correct. By testing only a small sample of your content, you can quickly adjust your writing style to better meet the needs of your users.<br>  
=== Categories<br>  ===
=== Categories<br>  ===
[[Category:Editorial]]
[[Category:Editorial]]

Latest revision as of 04:22, 17 January 2011

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