Say hello to summer, scribes!
When you’re not outside enjoying sun and fun, use these tips to sharpen your writing for the web.
Keep it simple. Web writing is about brevity and accessibility—help readers find what they need as quickly as possible. If it looks too long, it is too long. Improving readability isn’t “dumbing it down.”
Count to five. A rule of thumb for succinctness: Express 1 thought in 2-3 short sentences that take up no more than 4-5 lines on the page.
Be “scan”-dalous. Readers scan web pages for information—make key info stand out and easy to find. Use headers and the right keywords. If a user is looking for “financial aid,” don’t use “assistance.”
Bullets and numbered lists:
- Use them.
- Especially for more than three items in a series.
- People skimming a story are 47 percent more likely to read items in lists than almost any other copy on the page.
- Read more about punctuation for lists in the Chicago Manual of Style.
Get active. Online content requires action-focused, concise language. Use the active voice, not passive:
- YES: The researchers wrote the paper.
- NO: The paper was written by the researchers.
Be conversational. Write like you speak with your friends. Read your content out loud to see how it sounds. Analyze text with grammar tools in Word or a website such as StoryToolz; aim for reading grade levels of twelve or lower and high “reading ease” scores.
Skip jargon and be careful with acronyms. Use common words, not jargon. Regarding acronyms, know your audience: the UO community will recognize EMU, for example, but most readers don’t know acronyms such as CSWS (Center for the Study of Women in Society). On second reference to an entity, use general terms: the center, the project, etc.
Think when you link. Links can be useful but use them sparingly—balance the value of keeping the reader on the page and the value of information in a link. Hyperlink text, don’t add URLs.
For more, visit Writing for the Web. Send your questions to editor Matt Cooper, University Communications.