Suggestions

For example, consider technology such as search engines, chat rooms, and multimedia. With a search engine, web sites accumulate immediate feedback about the goals of their readers, and how to meet those goals. Chat room conversation cannot be designed, yet can be an invaluable source of information sharing, and can add to the stickiness or retention capability of your web site. Multimedia presentations that cannot exist in printed linear documents can add rich content to a non-linear presentation.

For example, an educational site that teaches the French language could have audio capabilities that play sounds of native speakers reading French literature. Hearing the native accent improves the learning capabilities of students using the site. Students can repeat sections of the text that prove difficult to pronounce, and they can jump ahead if they are ready for more sophisticated information. The multimedia capabilities add great advantages to non-linear Web information design, and should be explored and utilized if appropriate.

Challenges

Using more sophisticated technology on a web site presents many challenges. Primarily, complex tools take time and money to develop and implement. Adding search capabilities, applets, flash, animation, or streaming media takes a certain level of technological expertise that some Web designers and technical writers do not have. If the conversion project accounts for learning time, or allows resources to be dedicated to outsourcing the more technical tasks, a successful use of more sophisticated technology might be reasonable for a content creator. In addition to resource constraints, writers should consider the audience when designing sites that will use multimedia or other Web tools. Using technology can hinder readability and usability of your site if the audience typically uses older browsers or slower connections.

Another limitation of the Web as it exists today is the inability to track browsing history in a useful and meaningful way. Features such as "Favorites" and "Bookmarks" do not give the detailed information needed to make revisiting obscure paths to specialized Web sites easy. The purpose of discussing the limitations of hypertext is to inspire thought and progress towards a more sophisticated world of interactive hypertext on the Web.

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