Writing for the Web Content Management Support Team Writing for the - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Writing for the Web Content Management Support Team

Writing for the Web Todays session: 1. Audience • Identifying and understanding your audience and their needs • Message, conversation, relationship, trust 2. Style • Inverted pyramid • Active voice • Positive and objective • Concise and focused 3. Technique 1. Writing headings and subheadings 2. Writing paragraphs and sentences 3. Writing lists 4.Writing summaries 5. Writing links 6. Revise, edit, cut, repeat

Engaging with your Audience Talk to audience • Use your site visitors’ words • Write in a conversational style • Write with confident tone Use you / your and we /our • • Develop the relationship • Build trust Advantages • Makes it more personal and engaging • You will gain more time to get your message across • It is authentic a is first step in building credibility and your reputation

Active voice Active vs Passive Voice • Active voice: Subject + Verb + Object • Passive voice: Object + Verb + Subject Example Active sentence = You must fill out the form Passive sentence = The form must be filled out by you Advantages • Easier to understand Uses fewer words, making the writing more concise and efficient • • Creates a faster-moving narrative, which makes for easier writing and more engaging reading • Cleans up the sentence and helps prevent grammatical mistakes

Positive 1. Being positive uses fewer words and has a lighter tone Negative Positive Do not write negative statements Write positive statements 5 words 3 words 2. Negative words require more effort for the reader to understand Negative Positive not many few not the same different Not strong enough weak Did not remember forgot

Concise and focused When writing use Plain English When writing avoid unnecessary: 1. Sections • Details Direction • 2. Sentences • Those that reinforce point already made • Those that add no value to message 3. Words: Adjectives • • Needless words • Meaningless modifiers • Redundant categories 4. Phrases • Wordy phrases • Meaningless phrases

Examples of Needless Words “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words” - Mark Twain • perhaps • very • apparently • almost • relatively • seems • indeed • possibly • certainly • rather • obviously • sort of • surely • may • exactly • generally • somewhat • pretty • kind of

Inverted Pyramid This keeps the important information at the top of the screen, above the fold, where users can see it without having to scroll. 1. Start by telling the reader Need to know what they need to know 2. Most important content at the top of the page 3. Follow by the most important supporting Nice to information know 4. End by giving the background / detail

Writing headings and subheadings “A heading shouldn’t read like a sentence: a sentence should flow, but a heading should stop you and grab your attention” McGovern p120 1. Heading should be eight words or fewer 2. Use site visitor keywords (the words they care about) 3. Choose first two words carefully 4. Put your heading in order to help cognitive flow 5. Heading should be unique particularly page heading 6. Avoid known bad practices: centred, capitalisation, underlining Advantages • Facilitates quicker scanning so user can identify the section the need • Gives the user anchors to help them start read the text • Help signposts users to the content that they need

Writing paragraphs and sentences Paragraphs • Make every paragraph short • Ideally 2 to 3 lines • 25 to 40 words • No need for an introductory scene setting sentence • Start paragraphs with strongest sentence • Try to rewrite the paragraph so it becomes a sentence Sentences • Use short words that are familiar to user • Try to merge sentence together Try to rewrite the sentences so they become lists •

Writing Summaries “If the heading is the hook, the summary is the line that pulls you in. The summary gives the readers all the information they need to decide whether to read or not” McGovern p123 • 25 words or fewer • Write the summary last • Include site user keywords • Focus on facts and what is compelling • Sell: encourage the reader to read more • Quickly cover who, what, when, where, how • The last sentence needs punch to get users to read on Advantages • Alerting the user that they are in the wrong place • Reassure the user that they have found what they are looking for • Helps with search engine optimisation

Writing lists Introduce each list with a title and an introductory sentence: • Write list items concisely • Only between five and ten in each list • Five – unfamiliar • Ten – familiar to user • Try to keep list items to one line • Start each item with a different word • There is no need to use ending punctuation in a list • Put longest item in list at end so it does not distract from user reading other items

Writing Links: Good and Bad Links Bad links • Are broken • Wastes users time Use clever, made up words • • Look like other links on the page • Are lost in paragraphs full of other links • Use non-descriptive link text (click here) • Use University jargon unfamiliar to students Distracts the user from the task they are trying to complete • Good links • Are descriptive • Are action oriented • Place important words at the front of link text • Use plain language and common words Are a maximum of four words • • Obvious to the reader

Writing Links: Internal and External Internal links Avoid over-linking to other parts of your site • • Avoid putting links in sentences because this makes it harder to read • Links at end of sentence / paragraph / section / page • Put links in separate lines after the content • Bullet listed links make them stand out Have unique beginnings for all your links • External links Remember: external links draws attention away from University content • Use if they add value to your content • Name the site the link will lead to List the best quality external sites • • Remember your referral reflects on your site's quality • Add details about what can be found on external site • Include warnings about possible problems on the destination site

Writing Meaningful Links Purpose of links • Connect to other we resources • Helps the user predict what will happen • Is a step in helping the user achieve their task Meaningful links • Keep short • Avoid links with similar names • Tell the user what to expect • Launch and land on same name • Start with a verb (action orientated) • Use keywords words the user cares about) • Don’t use an URL as link text e.g. www.sheffield.ac.uk/history • Make link emphatic part of sentence / paragraph (preferably at end)

Writing Links: Example Stronger Links Weak links a. To request a transcript click here a) Request a transcript b. You can book at place on this page b) Book a place c. … is the general rule. More c) Check visa rules d. in the UK on this link d) apply to the Embassy e. ..advice centre as a useful web page e) staying safe in Sheffield f. go to www.sheffield.ac.uk/rs/services f) Support for researchers g. …sources of support.“ take a peek g) Browse Mind “for better mental health” h. Student Status here. h) Obtaining a Tuition Fee Summary i. …the case study. view here i) See the case study j. Click the link to receive updates j) Sign up to the newsletter k. send an email to…. k) Report a incident l. download here l) Download Student Minds (PDF 1.6MB)

Revise, edit, cut, repeat 1. Read your copy as the reader would. Does it achieve your / their objectives? 2. Read it out loud. Does it make sense? 3. Read again, this time checking the structure 4. Read it a final time to carefully check spelling, grammar and punctuation. Editing copy properly can take time so: Schedule in the time and avoid interruptions. • • Let it rest between revisions (you may be too close • Use dictionaries, a thesaurus and style guides • Take your time and concentrate. • Get someone else to look over it for you. Everybody makes mistakes so don’t beat yourself up over any that you find. •

Further Reading (Books) Books: Krug, Steve (2004) “Don’t Make Me Think!”, 2nd edition, New Riders • • Felder, Lynda (2011) “writing for the Web” New Riders • Handley, Ann (2014) “Everybody Writes”, Wiley • McGovern, Gerry (2006) “Killer Web Content“, A & C Black Publishers • Richards, Sarah (2017) Content Design Redish, Ginny (2012) “Letting Go of the Words” • Websites: • 4 Syllables (Writing Tips) https://4syllables.com.au/resource/ • Nielsen Norman Group • https://www.nngroup.com/topic/writing-web/ • Plain English Campaign http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/ Readbility Test Tool • https://www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/ https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sss/web/guide/writing-for-the-web