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How to write for the webRussell Warfield, Sustainability Communications CoordinatorFriday 29 November

Agenda

• Introduction • How do people use websites?• Overview principles of writing for the web• How to edit your copy for the web• Good example• Questions and Answers

How do users read on the web?

• Simple answer is they don’t!

• They scan instead

• Web users have the mentality of “don’t make me think”

How do users scan?

• On a first visit users will first of all glance at the whole page on view on the monitor without focussing

A quirk of some users is they may quickly scroll to the bottom and then back to the top before focussing

How users scan

• The first area a user’s eye will naturally focus upon is the image (if present), followed by the headline and then the intro

• However, it is also known for a user to first focus upon the image but then go straight to the body copy and miss out the headline and intro paragraph

How users scan• Next a user will typically

scan the body copy in the following order – The headlines– Links and downloads – Bold copy – Lists – Sentences last

(if they reach this level of engagement with the page)

How users scan• If a user has engaged

with the page they may then read all of it.

• Typically though this is where the journey ends and the user has taken less than 20% of the words in the article.

• They will now look for links, press the back button or close the site down

• All this has taken just a few seconds

So what do we do?

As a resultWeb pages have to employ scannable text, using:

– Highlighted keywords • bold• hypertext links serve as another one form of highlighting

- Meaningful and communicative sub-headings (not "clever" ones)

– Bulleted lists

– One idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first trigger words in the paragraph)

– The inverted pyramid style of writing • Starting with the conclusion and work back

– Half the word count (or less) than conventional writing

Editing doesn’t end after the publish button is clicked

Keep asking yourself:“Is this clear?”

“Is there a simpler way to say this?”

“Is there a shorter way to say this?”

“Is this even necessary?”

How editing improves usability

Let’s look at an example…

Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of people every year, without fail. In 2006, some of the most popular places were Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166), Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000), Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446).

Usability improvement rating 0% by definition

Concise text version(with about half the word count as the control condition)

In 2006, six of the best-attended attractions in Nebraska were Fort Robinson State Park, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum, Carhenge, Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park.

Usability improvement rating = 58%

Scannable layout version(using the same text as the control condition in a layout that facilitated scanning)

Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of people every year, without fail. In 2006, some of the most popular places were:

– Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors) – Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166) – Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000) – Carhenge (86,598) – Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002) – Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446)

Usability improvement rating = 47%

Combined version(using all three improvements in writing style together: concise, scannable, and objective)

In 2006, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were:

– Fort Robinson State Park – Scotts Bluff National Monument – Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum – Carhenge – Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer – Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park

Usability improvement rating = 124%

To be effective online

• You have to be brutal in editing your copy offline– Otherwise you are wasting your time– On the web, visitors want you to get to the point– They’re not on your site to admire fine writing

• If you don’t– You will be increasing clutter– Reducing the usability of the website– Making users think the site doesn’t have content

for them

To be effective online

• Shared/Implied Knowledge– Don’t take anything for granted– Anticipate the questions people may have– Answer questions they didn’t think to ask– Examine your content in the context of what

your site visitors probably want to do– Acronyms are dangerous – if in use link

them up to definition

Overview principles of writing for the web

• Good example

Eyetracking behaviour

Scanable

Skimable

Usable

Appendix

Top tips

1 Your audience• Think about your audience first. Who are they? • What are they are visiting the site for?• Think what primary message you want your

audience to learn/remember

Top tips

2 Editing your copy• Never, EVER, dump copy online that has

specifically been written for print• Take your offline copy and be brutal in editing

when putting it online • Look to write all your articles in under 500

words• Get your “killer content” in the first paragraph

of the body copy

Top tips

3. Formatting your copy• Be straight to the point• Use brief sentences • Use short paragraphs (don’t go over 4 lines of text)• Use the white space (its your best allied) • Use sub-headings to convey a new important message• Use bold text to assist scanability• Use hyperlinks to related information/articles in the body

copy• Use bullet lists• End the article with a call to action or links to related

articles on the site

Any questions?