Building a Better Web Site for Kids

By Famin Ahmed

Building a Web site for kids has its own list of problems and pitfalls, and all the tools available for use can make the task a bit daunting. I spoke with Sara DeWitt, Manager of PBS Kids Interactive, and Merry Bruns, Web Writing trainer at ScienceSites Communications, to develop these 10 commandments for developing kids' Web sites. Whether you're a published kids' writer on your first Web adventure, or an experienced Webmaster creating your first site for Beginning Readers, these 10 tips should help you launch a site that kids will love.

1. Who's it for? Figure out your target age group. A 2-year-old and a 12-year-old won't go for the same site. Group your content appropriate to one age group at a time. AOL and Nickelodeon have set up sites for different age groups: AOL Jr., AOL Tween, Nickelodeon, and Nick Jr. Only have funds for one site? Aim for older kids (ages 8-12), or create sections for different age groups like whitehouse.gov/kids. Remember that parents and educators also visit Web sites for kids.

2. Be short, concise, and age-appropriate. The basics for online writing are the same as for print. Keep sentences short and simple, with only one thought per sentence. Make sure the language, as well as the material, is appropriate for the site's target age group. And explain tougher words or use them in context.

3. Keep paragraphs short and columns narrow. Kids younger than 9 have trouble keeping their place on the screen while scrolling. Break up long, bulky paragraphs into smaller ones. Make it easier for kids to move horizontally across the screen by keeping columns of text about five words wide. A little white space can go a long way.

4. Marry text to images. Illustrations can reinforce words and serve as graphical clues. Put words on arrows and hyperlink buttons that illustrate choices and options. Use a traffic light icon to highlight a "Go" command button to help early readers recognize the word. "Usability tests show that links using both graphics and text are the most popular," says Bruns, "and they kill all ambiguity."
Examples: http://www.abcnews4kids.org/

5. Show, don't tell. Take advantage of the tools you can use on the Web but not in print publications. Use interactive elements like mouseovers to show rabbits changing color in winter, rather than limiting yourself to text that describes it. The Between the Lions site on pbskids.org uses sound to help early readers recognize and pronounce new words. The Web allows your site to cater to several different learning styles and reading levels at once-take advantage of it.
Examples:
Between the Lions
Coal Country

6. But don't overdo the interactivity. Interactive elements are fun, can assist with learning, and kids like them. But different age groups require different amounts. Too much flashing can overwhelm preschoolers-they prefer simple cause-and-effect elements like rollovers and mouseovers. Older kids can handle more, but don't make your site all bells and whistles. Limit interactive elements to the most popular or most important lessons in your content. "Content drives media at PBS," says DeWitt. "Don't do it in sound hoping that it will help you meet your education standards. Do your interactive elements reinforce the lesson?"

7. Take it easy on early readers. Unlike adult visitors, your early readers are still learning to distinguish between different letters. Help them along by using simple sans serif fonts that are not too wide and have easy readability. Use dark fonts on lighter backgrounds and size fonts no smaller than Ariel 11. Limit funky fonts to headers and icons.

8. Be kind to short attention spans. Kids love illustrations and games, but keep that digital cable commercial in mind-most kids will not have the patience to wait 300 seconds for a kilobyte-heavy page to load. And most of your viewers will not be checking your site on a T1 line.

9. Be kind to the technology-phobic. Make your site simple to operate. Minimize (or eliminate!) the number of programs that must be downloaded before your viewer can interact with your site.

10. Immerse their brains. Learning is a step-by-step process. Keep that in mind as your viewer jumps from link to link. View your site like a classroom lesson plan. Does this page reinforce the lesson we're trying to teach? Each link or page should involve your viewer in some thoughtful activity.

August 26, 2003 | BY JONATHAN DUBE

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