Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content That Works

Web site design and development continues to become more sophisticated. An important part of this maturity originates with well-laid-out and well-written content. Ginny Redish is a world-renowned expert on information design and how to produce clear writing in plain language for the web. All of the invaluable information that she shared in the first edition is included with numerous new examples. New information on content strategy for web sites, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media make this once again the only book you need to own to optimize your writing for the web.
New material on content strategy, search engine optimization, and social mediaLots of new and updated examplesMore emphasis on new hardware like tablets, iPads, and iPhonesReview*"The book is brimming with advanced knowledge for perfecting written communication in our mobile digital age. If you write anything at all (you send emails, don't you?), you need to grab a copy of Letting Go of the Words and keep it close at hand.This book has joined my writer's bookshelf as a valued aid I refer to every day."--TechWhirl.com, January 21, 2014 «This is a must-have book for anyone associated with preparing web copy. It is not a web developer's technical manual, but rather assists users in preparing an effective message for website visitors. I recommend this truly complete and informative book.»--ComputingReviews.com, May 23, 2013 «This comprehensive volume on the language of web design provides practical advice for developers on the effective use of text and language in the creation of highly usable websites.»*--Reference and Research Book News, February 2013
Praise from the first edition:
«Redish has done her homework and created a thorough overview of the issues in writing for the Web. Ironically, I must recommend that you read her every word so that you can find out why your customers won't read very many words on your website — and what to do about it.»--Jakob Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Norman Group «There are at least twelve billion web pages out there. Twelve billion voices talking, but saying mostly nothing. If just 1% of those pages followed Ginny's practical, clear advice, the world would be a better place. Fortunately, you can follow her advice for 100% of your own site's pages, so pick up a copy of Letting Go of the Words and start communicating effectively today.”--Lou Rosenfeld, co-author, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web "If you're looking for a concise, comprehensive, and visual guide containing hundreds of practical online writing tips for personal branding success will give you everything needed to take your writing to the next level in Ginny Redish's Letting Go of the Words.This could be the most important Holiday Gift book you give-or receive-this year."--Personal Branding Blog, November 2012 «If you only read one book about online writing and design, get Ginny Redish's Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works. It's a book that can do more good for more websites than any other book I can recommend at this time.You read, then you look. You read a little more, and you look again. Suddenly, it all makes sense!»--Published and Profitable, December 2012
About the AuthorJanice (Ginny) Redish has been helping clients and colleagues communicate clearly for more than 20 years. For the past ten years, her focus has been helping people create usable and useful web sites.
A linguist by training, Ginny is passionate about understanding how people think, how people read, how people use web sites – and helping clients write web content that meets web users' needs in the ways in which they work.
Ginny loves to teach and mentor – and to practice what she preaches. She turns research into practical guidelines that her clients and students can apply immediately to their web sites.
Ginny's earlier books received rave reviews for being easy to read and easy to use, as well as comprehensive and full of great advice. She is co-author of two classic books on usability:
A Practical Guide to Usability Testing (with Joseph Dumas)
User and Task Analysis for Interface Design (with JoAnn Hackos)
She is also the author of the section on writing on www.usability.gov.
Ginny's work and leadership in the usability and plain language communities have earned her numerous awards, including the Rigo Award from the ACM Special Interest Group on the Design of Communication and the Alfred N. Goldsmith Award from the IEEE Professional Communication Society.
Ginny is a Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication and a past member of the Board of Directors of both the Society for Technical Communication and the Usability Professionals' Association.