You Don’t Know What You Want To Find
Web users may know what they’re looking for, but they don’t know what they want to find. Links are the bridge between the two. Links take surfers on waves of links to the shore of useful information. People on the internet choose links based on context information in the paragraph and sentence they are reading. They may go to where they expected to, but there is likely something on the resulting page that they had no idea about. In the same way, surfers choose the wave they want to ride based on the conditions of the water around them. Once standing on the board, though, their fate rests in the wave. The waves carry the surfer to his or her destination. That’s the fun part. Not knowing exactly where you’re going to end up. You can navigate on the web or on the wave to achieve a goal, but you’ll also find experience something you never thought would happen. That is what makes links wonderful.
Links are the Web
Links are the framework of the most profound invention in recent centuries. Without links, there would be no Internet. Links are the “inter” of the “net.” Dewey Decimal System is where the idea was incepted. In 1895, Paul Otlet expanded the system brilliantly into a tool to cross-reference two different topics, thus “linking” them together. Links were first used for internet-type purposes in 1985, when Vannevar Bush created the Memex. The Memex began the fascinating tool hyperlinks have become. Ted Nelson, father of the hyperlink, coined the actual term in 1965 after reading about Bush’s Memex in his essay, “As We May Think.”
Thanks to links, a few clicks on a computer can bring you to any information in the world. There are no limits to what you might find just by clicking around on links that users think may lead to something interesting. Links are what make everything possible on the internet.
They are the lines of webbing that go from point to point. The web is spun by designers (spiders, I suppose) in a way that steers the explorer to where they want to be, whether they’re aware of it or not. The web is an incredible masterpiece that allows the reader to stray from the ever-hindering linear method of reading that would be forced on him or her without links. There are many reasons for links, and they’re all purposeful and give users a better experience online. In order to limit the users’ choices on certain pages, designers use their expert discretion to specify which links will be available where on the web.
A Careful Balance
Links have a helpful balance between making themselves known and being out of the way. When made to look the right way, they stick out enough to tell the reader they are important. When placed correctly, they don’t attract the reader so much as to interrupt him or her from the reading of the page. Links are supposed to be blue and underlined — blue for a uniform, alternate color to the rest of the text, and underlined for users who may have trouble seeing different colors. They are also strategically placed within the sentence or paragraph, usually at the end so the reader knows what the passage is about before reaching the link. Readers can use these handy characteristics in their decision whether or not to click links. The beauty of the link is that it is a decision. Web users aren’t forced to go to any page they know won’t be of use to them. Links are simply suggestions or guidelines for possible routes to where the user wishes to explore next.
Saving Precious Time
On complex, long webpages, links provide the short version. They are the GPS that shows what steps to take to get to the destination.
On the home page of a web site, organized links at the top of the site act as shortcuts to the exact page the user wants to go to. GPSs have multiple routes to get to the same destination. So do networks of links on a website. However, there is always an ideal route in both situations. GPSs start with the ideal route, and websites are laid out to show the ideal route to each page within them. Therefore, users can choose how efficient they want their search to be. They can go directly to the destination if they’re in a hurry, or they can take the scenic route if they have some more time on their hands. Links can be quick when needed, or they can allow for an adventure.
Another time-saver links provide is their ability to make scanning easier. Readers can read headlines, lead sentences, and links to easily maneuver their way to the article or page they find useful on their search. Without links being the outstanding text that gives the choice to move on, readers would have to read the entire article before realizing whether the information is relevant to their search or if a different article would be more helpful.
According to David Weinberger, links “act as a predictive favor to our readers, suggesting a possible useful tool of navigation.” The web designers put tons of time and effort in strategically placing links in places that will be convenient and useful to people who land on certain pages. Although links have several purposes that aren’t always laid out perfectly to the user, they are always there for a reason. They are placed in a particular spot for a particular reason, and ultimately for the reader’s own good. Every link is exactly what someone is looking for. The context is there for the reader to make the right choice in whether or not a link is one that fits along his or her online journey.
