Writing for the Web

Presenters: David Lee King, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, Rebecca Blakiston, University of Arizona Libraries, Elaine Meyer, Midwest Collaborative for Library Services

We’re not all writers.  You have 8 seconds to grab people’s attention.

1. People – know our customers (we are writing for an audience). You can do so by checking Google Analytics, FB, YouTube analytics & insights. Talk to them informally, or through surveys & focus groups. What do they like? Include content they’re interested in.

Have a focus – look at strategic plan, choose your audience.

Know your staff, too – or train them.

Words are a product, a creation – remember that writing for library is not a personal creative outlet. Editing makes the product better.

Focus on the right things. Showcase product and customer benefit, not details. What do you want them to do? (Like the page, register for a program, etc.)

2. Process – titles! Front load the content. Include key words. Only use 5-6 words. Don’t get cute.

Use inverted pyramid style of writing – what you want your customer to do next and/or 5Ws in 1st paragraph. Important details next, other general background info last. Use images as much as possible, that match up with and complement content – especially in social media posts. Spell check and proofread. Re-use content.

Where to start? Google content audit – where all content is, who’s writing it, how often you’re doing it. Look at analytics – page views, time on page, bounce rate. Start w/more popular 10-20 pages. Have fun!

• Write like you talk – try reading out loud. Relax and have fun with it.
• Use active voice.
• Pick nouns and verbs wisely.
• Define your voice and tone. (e.g. Reassuring but not paternalistic. Inspiring but not cheerlead-y. Fun but not cheeky. Academic but not highbrow.)
• Pick a succinct, meaningful title (might be link or dropdown menu). Avoid jargon.
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short (paragraphs no more than 3 sentences or 6 lines. Sentences no more than 25 words. A paragraph can be just a sentence.)
• Use headings to organize content
• Use the power of parallelism (e.g. same verb form/tense in list)
• Use tables for related content (e.g. prices for services). If (column 1) then (column 2)
• Use bulleted lists for items and options
• Use numbered lists for instructions or process
• But use instructions sparingly – avoid saying fill out the form below, to navigate this website, to use this webpage.
• Avoid other unnecessary phrases (in this article, in this blog post, on this web page)
• Focus on essential messages (know audience, define call(s) to action, only include content that meets both user and organizational goals, put key messages first)
• No one will ever complain that you’ve made things too simple to understand.
• Remove unnecessary adverbs (very large – huge)
• Remove redundant adjectives
• Simplify – make shorter
• Read these books – Letting go of the words, Everybody writes, On writing well, Stephen King on writing

Why is writing for the web different? Reading from a computer screen is tiring to your eyes, 25% slower than print reading. People are less likely to read long pieces of text online than in print.

Online – people don’t read but skim, scan, select, browse before diving in, read a little at a time, mostly in short bursts, grab what they need and get on to their goal

Less is more – less content is easier to manage, more user-friendly, costs less to create. Helps avoid outdated content, broken links.

Planning your web content – needs to support key business objective or users in completing a task

Questions to ask: why am I creating this page? Who am I talking to? What is my main message? Does the user need it? What do I want the user to do after reading it? Every page must have a clear purpose.

Content accessibility for people with disabilities – links, buttons, form controls, images, etc. Recommended book: A Web for Everyone

• Use descriptive link text (don’t say click here – instead, complete online reserve form)
• Human readable URLs
• Button labels – short and action-oriented. Avoid Go or OK – instead, Submit or Give Feedback
• Alert users of outside content (PDF, Word, etc. – try to use HTML)
• Contrast – so everything is clear
• Remember that some users have red/green color blindness
• Avoid using all caps
• Left-align text instead of justifying or centering
• Images – use text equivalents. Every image must have valid “alt” text.
• Avoid images that don’t convey information.
• User assistance (help) – group things so they make visual sense, follow common placement used by large websites (search box, help)
• Go back and check your work.
• Make sure every function on website can be done on keyboard.