3. Writing for the web: 4 key rules
1. Think about your audience(s)
2. Use clear and simple language
3. Keep content relevant
4. Keep content current
4. 4
Structure
content using
pyramid method 1
Lead contains
the key
information
Inverted Pyramid
Least important
information is found here,
at the bottom of the story
Interesting facts and
colourful details are
found in the body text
5. Best practice: Language
• Get to the point
• Keep it simple
• One idea per paragraph
• Cut metaphors, figures of speech or other
editorial flourishes
• Avoid jargon and explain acronyms
6. Best practice: Introductions
• Conclusion is key and should be at start of
content
• One short, concise paragraph
• No weblinks – retain your audience
7. Best practice: Body content
• Include further interesting facts and details
• Use short sentences, frontload the idea
• Retain simple words and style
• Avoid being passive
• Divide information into short paragraphs
8. Best practice: Headings
• Gives a sense of the content to follow
• Draws audience into the text
• Should be concise, clear and descriptive
• No acronyms or jargon
• Use keywords
• Use sub-headings to break up content
9. Best practice: Layout
• Bulleted lists help online readers
• Use numbered lists when order is important
• Avoid tables except for displaying data
• Images sometimes enhance content
10. Best practice: Weblinks
• They help users navigate a website and intranet
• Never use them in headline or intro text
• Keep them short and descriptive
• Accompany the link with some descriptive text
• No click here links
• Warn users if target content is not a web page
• Check your links work
11. • The Ten-Point action Plan for the Coalition of
Cities Against Racism in Europe has just been
finalised.
• The Coalition of Cities Ten Point Action Plan
Against Racism in Europe has just been
finalised.
Short descriptive weblink
12. Example: Headings and links
You can stand as a candidate in the general election if you are
18 years old or over, and either a British citizen, a citizen of
the Republic of Ireland, or a citizen of a Commonwealth
country who does not require leave to enter or remain in the
UK, or who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Certain people may not stand as candidates, such as
members of the police forces, members of the armed forces,
serving civil servants or judges, certain convicted prisoners or
those declared to be bankrupt.
The Electoral Commission offers guidance to anyone wishing
to stand as a candidate in a UK election in their factsheet:
http://www. electoralcommission.org.uk/candidate
13. Example: Headings and links
Who can stand as a candidate in the general election?
What qualifications must I meet?
You can stand as a candidate in the general election if you are 18 years old or
over, and either a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or a
citizen of a Commonwealth country who does not require leave to enter or
remain in the UK, or who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Who is disqualified?
Certain people may not stand as candidates, such as members of the police
forces, members of the armed forces, serving civil servants or judges, certain
convicted prisoners or those declared to be bankrupt.
Official guidance
The Electoral Commission offers guidance on standing as a candidate in a UK
election.
14. Example: Writing an introduction
Who can stand as a candidate in the general election?
What qualifications must I meet?
You can stand as a candidate in the general election if you are
18 years old or over, and either a British citizen, a citizen of
the Republic of Ireland, or a citizen of a Commonwealth
country who does not require leave to enter or remain in the
UK, or who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Who is disqualified?
Certain people may not stand as candidates, such as
members of the police forces, members of the armed forces,
serving civil servants or judges, certain convicted prisoners or
those declared to be bankrupt.
15. Example: Writing an introduction
Who can stand as a candidate in the general election?
If you are thinking of standing as a candidate at the next UK
Parliamentary general election there are a number of
qualifications that must be met.
What qualifications must I meet?
You can stand as a candidate in the general election if you are 18 years old
or over, and either a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or
a citizen of a Commonwealth country who does not require leave to enter
or remain in the UK, or who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Who is disqualified?
Certain people may not stand as candidates, such as members of the
police forces, members of the armed forces, serving civil servants or
judges, certain convicted prisoners or those declared to be bankrupt.
16. Example: Lists
Who can stand as a candidate in the general election?
If you are thinking of standing as a candidate at the next UK
Parliamentary general election there are a number of
qualifications that apply.
What qualifications must I meet?
You can stand as a candidate in the general election if you are 18 years old
or over, and either a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or
a citizen of a Commonwealth country who does not require leave to enter
or remain in the UK, or who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Who is disqualified?
Certain people may not stand as candidates, such as members of the
police forces, members of the armed forces, serving civil servants or
judges, certain convicted prisoners or those declared to be bankrupt.
17. Example: Lists
What qualifications must I meet?
You must be at least 18 years old and be either:
• a British citizen
• a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or
• a citizen of a Commonwealth country who does not require leave to enter
or remain in the UK, or who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Who is disqualified?
Certain people are disqualified from becoming a Member of the UK
Parliament. For example:
• members of the police forces
• members of the armed forces
• civil servants and judges
• certain convicted prisoners
• people who are declared to be bankrupt
18. Writing for the web: 4 key rules
1. Think about your audience(s)
2. Use clear and simple language
3. Keep content relevant
4. Keep content current
19. Best practice
• Inverted pyramid
• Meaningful informative headings and sub-
headings
• Short descriptive hyperlinks – no ‘click here’ links
• Use bulleted lists and images
• Avoid tables unless data
• Proof read and check links
Editor's Notes
This session will offer guidance on best practice on writing for the web.
Key areas we will cover:
How users read on the web
How you should write for the web to get the best outcomes
How layout can improve the readability of your content
This presentation, along with some exercises and our upcoming training sessions on Accessibility and Search Engine Optimisation will help improve your skills and confidence to engage with intranet and website audiences.
People rarely read Web pages word by word; instead, they scan the page.
Explain heat map above, colour intensity denotes where a user spends the most time focused on one point.
On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely. (Jacob Neilson)
Scanning text is an extremely common behaviour for higher-literacy users; and recent eye tracking studies further validate this finding.
Reading on-screen is 25% slower than on paper.
Often users do not see all of the page content at first glance.
Sometimes there is more than one target audience for your content and it is important to write with this in mind. Assume that your audience does not know everything.
Reinforce earlier point that people read differently on the Web, as such our language needs to be considerate. Users look at pages quickly and need to gain a sense of your content quickly. Don’t make this difficult for them – use words that are clear and simple. Don’t block them from moving through the content with jargon and acronyms!
Think about what your audience wants and what your content should deliver – make sure the content on your page is relevant to them and they information they are looking for when they visit your page or section.
A good check is always to get someone else – who may know less about the subject than you - to read your content once you feel it’s ready.
Online audiences want to know that web pages are up-to-date and giving them current information. If you visit another site and see that their Latest News was published in February 2008, it casts doubt on whether anything else on that site can be considered current. If you have time-specific content on your pages or sections, keep an eye on them and let your users know that the information you are presenting is up-to-date!
When writing for the web, it’s best to think about the Inverted Pyramid structure. The key information should be placed at the start of the content, this should lead the user neatly into the content by telling them exactly what the core points are. The introduction for most pages should be written for a universal audience, as opposed to specialists who arrive with previous knowledge.
This allows users to:
Quickly scan through the opening sentence.
Instantly understand what it’s about
Decide if they want to read the rest of the paragraph or not
The introduction should then be followed by some of the most interesting facts and details which make up the main body content..
Lesser important information should be placed at the end of the content in an attempt to retain audiences for as long as possible and to equip them with the basics before they move onto the move detailed files/pages for further information.
We’ve already established that online readers do things differently than print – they scan, so make this process easier by getting to the point at the very beginning. Use shorter words and phrases, and review your opening few sentences to omit any unnecessary words.
Keep It Short and Simple
One idea or concept per paragraph – always using plain language!
Make sure everything you place on the page reinforces your point – if they don’t help you to make a point, then you probably don’t need it. Don’t assume your audience knows the jargon – again, this will alienate.
Spell out acronyms the first time they appear on the page – remember, you are catering for multiple audiences and so need to ensure that varying levels of understanding are accommodated.
Also on the website, link to the Glossary if necessary – it’s there to give people a further understanding of the terms without disrupting your content.
Writing an introduction is crucial; sum up the main points of the information contained in the article.
This will let your user know they are in right place, by giving them the main points from the content. Each page should have an introduction.
Being succinct is important here, being engaging is key and reduces the number of people who exit or leave your page. Think of pages you have seen on other websites and how your instantly reject and exit a badly laid out page...
Aim for between 30-60 words.
Introductions are the place for you to promote your content. The introduction is where the more important content will be found, so there should be no real need for weblinks. Something to consider, if you’re thinking about putting one in, what is the value of all of the content beneath it? Particularly if it takes the user away from your page...
The body content is the space for you to flesh out your information – after you’ve summarised it up the conclusion in your introduction, this is the place for you to work through some of the more colourful detail.
However, the same rules apply in terms of language – keep it short and snappy.
Try to avoid being passive, make sentences as active as possible. For example, the report was published by the such-and-such committee is not as engaging to the reader as to the such-and-such committee published a report.
Break the content down into paragraphs and cover one idea per paragraph. Always try to outline your idea at the beginning of your sentences and paragraphs to heighten the chances of your reader capturing the point.
In terms of layout, headings are absolutely crucial. They help ensure that your pages are picked up by search engine robots, support the requirements of users with any accessibility needs, as well as reassuring all audiences that they are in the right place. Headings are the first content element, and should be used to draw readers down into the information you present.
Over 50% of users parachute onto single pages from search engines.
Headings should be considered carefully, they need to be short, but still descriptive.
They should never include acronym or jargon that assumes any prior level of knowledge from a user. Think about your audiences, the heading needs to cater for all of them if possible.
Keywords will be covered in more detail in the later Search Engine Optimisation presentation – however, in terms of creating pages that rank highly, getting the right heading on a page means that you are heading in the right direction.
Sub-headings are important, especially when the subject changes. Sub-headings should accurately and concisely sum up the content they refer to, and should also make sense in isolation. A sub-heading will also trigger a readers interest and keep them reading down your content for that little bit longer, than if it has been presented in a series of paragraphs. Sub-headings are also important from an accessibility perspective, but more on that later...
Use lists more often on a web page that you might in print. They help focus the eye on important information.
When order of lists is unimportant, use an unnumbered list.
Use numbered lists when order of entries is important – but generally lists should have no more than two levels.
Limit the number of items in a single list to no more than 9.
Tables should only be used when presenting data, as opposed to for presentation purposes. For example, opening hours should not be presented in table form. If you have non-data content that currently sits in a table, the Web Centre would be happy to offer some alternative ways that you could present your information. Tables create accessibility issues on the site and an examples of this will be shown in the Accessibility presentation.
Images can be useful in terms of breaking up content, retaining user interest with the content or to strengthen information presented in written form. You will learn more about best practice of images later in the course.
Hyperlinks provide the reader with further information –a route through to deeper content which might be another page or document. Think about the journey you want to take your user on, and remember that they will be navigating elsewhere should they click on a hyperlink, so you want to think carefully about how/when you use them, as they will increase the chances of you losing your audience.
Make sure your hyperlink text is descriptive, never use ‘Click here’ or ‘Read this’ as text for your hypertext font in any circumstances. This practice is bad for a number of reasons (accessibility, SEO, style). Hyperlink text should always state what content is behind the link so the user is aware of where they are. The search engine bots search pages looking for keywords, hyperlink text is one of the main elements of a page that they search for – so it must be descriptive and helpful. Also hyperlink text is a primary means of navigation for users who depend on screen readers because of poor visual ability.
In terms of best practice, hyperlink text will ideally be between 3-7 words. We do understand this is not always possible, for example if linking to a report that has a long title. In other cases, if you feel you need more words, you could always accompany the link with some short, descriptive text that gives a little bit of extra information.
Always warn a user when the target content is not another web page – for example, a PDF, Word document or other download. This should be done automatically by the CMS but please check your page for this important information.
Check your link works – broken links irritate and frustrate your users and risk pushing them away.
Example reinforces points of previous slide.
This screen should be activity-based, get the group discussing and offering some suggestions for useful headings and links that would make this content more web-friendly.
Suggested answer for previous activity, but their own ideas are likely to be equally valid. This is what the Web Centre will suggest, and what will go live in our General Election section on the parliament.uk website.
Activity-based – get the group to work on some suggestions for introductory text for the paragraph.
Suggestions from the Web Centre – example above will go live in our General Election section.
Activity-based – how can the paragraphs above be usefully adapted to form lists which will make them more easily scannable for online audiences.
NB: There is a further activity that can be handed around to consolidate everything in this workshop – if there is time, the group might want to start on this. They will need a good 10/15 minutes to complete – or they could always take this away to look at later.
Suggestions from the Web Centre – this is what is planned to go live in our General Election section.
