Writing for the Web

Before you Begin

There are some questions you need to ask yourself before you sit down to write any page, paragraph or call to action on your website.

Who is your audience?

Your audience is your user. They can vary across all parts of your site. Designate a primary, secondary or even tertiary audience groups. Whenever you start writing, ask yourself who specifically are you trying to reach in your audience.

What does your user need?

Now that you have an audience in mind, what are their needs? What should they be able to accomplish on this page? Will they need detailed instructions to do it? Or a link to another page to follow through? Don’t leave them searching for answers or they’ll give up and move on.

What are your goals?

This isn’t the same as your organizational goals or even the overall website goals. Think about what this individual piece of copy needs to accomplish for you. Are you trying to increase attendance at an event? Sign-ups for a newsletter? Once you have a goal in mind, think about how you can merge your user’s needs with your goals. That is how you make great content.

Tips

Web writing is not quite like writing for any other medium. For starters, the average web user has an attention span of five seconds. You have that much time to catch their attention. It seems intimidating, but all readers want to be spoken to like a real person. Here are a few things to know when writing for your website.

• Write as you speak: Keep it conversational. Use pronouns (you, we, they). Use contractions (don’t, you’ll, it’s). Read your copy out loud or to a colleague. If it sounds too formal, think of how you’d describe it to a student in person.
• Use active voice: Don't write in the passive voice.
  • Active voice: “Our students love our program.”
  • Passive voice: “Our program is loved by students.”
  • Active voice makes sentences shorter, simpler and more engaging to read.
• Use plain English: Write short sentences. Replace long formal words with short ones (e.g. “buy” instead of “purchase”). Plain language is for everyone, but it is important for those with disabilities or non-native English speakers.
• Avoid jargon and acronyms: Don't write jargon as much as possible and don’t overuse acronyms. Formal academic terms and organizational acronyms can be hard to avoid but do your best.
• Aim for a high school reading level: Our audience is intelligent, but no one thinks like a research paper all the time. Many web users are in a rush. Even PhDs can’t read at their highest comprehension in a hurry. Try using a readability tester.
• Write scannable content: You may have heard of the inverted pyramid or writing from most to least important. When writing for the Web, we use the F pattern. Assume the user will not read every sentence. Limit one idea per paragraph. Use bullet points, catchy headings, and lots of links. These are more likely to catch the eye.

Audience and Tone

Audience determines not just what you communicate, but how you communicate it. Tone is the attitude and emotion you use to communicate your message. The university branded tone should be used in all content, but you need to tailor tone to your specific audience and subject.

Is the subject light? Try a funny or friendly tone. Is it complex? A serious tone would be more appropriate. Consider your user’s state of mind too. Using a light tone in copy intended for users in a difficult situation is frustrating to say the least.

Tone is the way we are perceived by the user so you want to leave a good impression, just like a face-to-face conversation.