The choice of language also has to be carefully considered to come across simple and obvious when directing you to another area of the website. This webpage does this by using questions in its headings such as ‘What’s wrong?’ this works and catches attention as it’s likely to be a parallel with the mental questions the user is asking. The site also breaks down the problem, much like a doctor, ‘what steps to take’, in order to make understanding the information digestible. Additionally the language is used to create a presence of assistance, examples of words which emphasise this aspect are; ‘recommended’ and ‘guide’, both used to lead the user through links and options. An instructive tone ‘beat the blues and get your life back’ also helps to direct the user to areas of interest efficiently.
As a webpage that gives medical advice it’s important to uphold and image of curing problems. The page uses a picture of a stethoscope which immediately gives connotations of doctors and medical environments. Other graphology is used to enhance this, such as the way in which ‘Solver’, the key aim, is put in bold and ‘symptom’ in a transparent shade, as if it was being eliminated. Words are also used to relate back to the key topic, for example ‘tool’, ‘health guide’ and ‘symptom solver’.
Like people feel the need to have a trust in their doctor they have to feel secure when taking advice from this webpage. Honesty runs throughout the text, ‘this is not intended to replace your physician’ this also shows that the writers of the site are in agreement and on the same wave length as your usual doctor, a trustable body in society. Secondly there is legal based small, but readable, print at the bottom of the page; this will make people see the website and its information as being legitimate.
Another feature that creates a trustable judgement is the use of the recognisable ‘i’ symbolising ‘information’, emphasising that the content of the page is fact as appose to opinion. This is supported by the use of superlatives, such as ‘top’ and ‘best’ both used to signify the writer’s belief in what is written and also to draw attention, which is then enhanced by the star icons, signifying high quality.
Finally the main aim of the site is to target a large and varied audience, this particular site does this firstly by presenting a large amount of content on the side bar to try and appeal to everyone. There are also a variety of ways to find the same information so people can have the flexibility of finding and sorting this information the way they find most useful.
The word ‘village’ used in the name of the site gives connotations of a friendly community. This atmosphere can also be seen in the informal lexis which contains educated information, making it approachable for a wide audience, yet maintaining honesty.
Including the user is important; personal pronouns used in ‘Are you healthy for your age?’ making the audience feel the page is directed at them. The rhetorical question here is included to evoke thought and entice the user to feel like they should know; consequently they enter the link to find out more. Additionally page uses activities such as quizzes to draw the viewer in. Message boards and being a member of the site gives it a social element and implies others are in the same situations as you: a comforting thought, but primarily others using it gives the user confidence in the website and therefore they reuse it next time they have a problem to solve.
