Naturally, this makes it quite simple for the reader to become lost and confused. There is always the risk that your reader will be sidetracked by irrelevant content and lose interest or even remember where they were before. Ironically, it is also the pleasure of reading through hypertext.

Disorientation's risks are therefore not necessarily as severe for the reader. It just implies that they have become interested in something, though not in the original document they were reading.

There will be readers who prefer a more linear approach, or who may be searching for a specific piece of information and want to get there quickly.

The organising problem is the first and possibly the most significant one for the hypertext creator. It takes careful planning—and the open-mindedness to spot worthwhile links when you stumble upon them—to maintain that balance between control and utilising the hypertext format to its fullest. The following categories deal with the most fundamental components of writing for hypertext and simply offer some guidelines.

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How to write for hypertext.