Sufficient consensus
Cognitive load theory distinguishes the difficulty inherent in the material from the load added by presentation. Working memory is limited, and unnecessary load reduces comprehension and retention.
Short sentences, clear structure and worked examples lower it.
What the result pages leave out
These belong to the subject. People ask about them. They are missing from the agreed coverage.
- Load as the real cost of a long page. Comprehensive coverage is expensive for the reader, and the cost is charged to the decision they came to make.
- Jargon as a tax. Every unexplained term forces a lookup or a guess, and both cost attention that was meant for the argument.
- Decisions the reader should not have to make. Navigation choices, unsorted option lists and unranked recommendations move work from the author to the reader.
- The load of distrust. A reader who suspects a sales motive spends capacity on evaluating you instead of the subject.
- Silence. Removing a section is a design decision that raises the effect of everything left.
What people actually want to know
- What can I remove without losing the answer?
- Which terms am I using that the reader has to look up?
- What decisions am I passing to the reader that I should have made?
- How long does this take to read, honestly?
If a small amount of words is enough, a small amount of words is the correct answer.
More in human-computer interaction
Search user interfaceThe layout decides how much of your answer a person ever sees.Interactive information retrievalPeople reformulate because they have learned something.Information foragingThe decision to stay is made before the first paragraph is finished.Visual hierarchyMost readers will see four things on your page.Eye trackingAttention is a prerequisite.SensemakingTen good answers to ten narrow questions can still leave someone unable to decide.Usability testingA perfectly usable page can still be the wrong page.