I just read an article by Gerry McGovern – Content management solutions: Gerry McGovern http://www.gerrymcgovern.com

However once again Gerry made an excellent point regarding links and readability of websites.

“The first one he tested contained the following within his bio:

“I’m on Twitter.” (with the “Twitter” as the link) That had a conversion rate of 4.7 percent. Then he tried: “Follow me on Twitter.” (with the Twitter as the link). This had a conversion rate of 7.3 percent. Next up was: “You should follow me on Twitter” (with “Twitter” as the link). The conversion was 10.1 percent. Next, Dustin tried the following approach (I’m showing you the whole bio).

My name is Dustin Curtis

I make user interfaces and experiences. I am 8,227 days old. You should follow me on twitter here. You can learn more about me in my about article and on my less interesting blog.

In the above approach, “here” was the link. This had a conversion rate of 12.8 percent. This is very interesting stuff and shows the benefits of testing. However, here are a few observations. I’ve found that the most effective links are written like headings, not part of sentences at all. I’ve found that putting links in sentences reduces readability and clickability. I’ve also found that using blue text and underlining the link immediately makes it obvious that it is a link.

The problem is, of course, that it’s hard to have blue and underline when you have a black background. Isn’t it amazing how many designers hate underline? They think it’s ugly, that it takes away from the look of the page.

Have you read any grey books recently? I mean, have you read any books that use grey text or that have black backgrounds? Or, for that matter, have you read any print newspapers or magazines that use grey text? It’s well documented that it’s harder to read on a screen than in print. So why do designers deliberately create webpages that make reading even harder? Simple, really.

Many web designers are more concerned with how the page looks than how it reads and functions.

Strange though it may seem to some, the number one activity on the Web is reading.”

Important note to take away from this post is  — yes a good design is important,  but the content within your website and the ease for people to fine the information they require on your site is far more important.