Writing for the Web

Writing for the Web

CEHD voice and tone

Smart but not exclusive
Clear but not blunt
Helpful but not patronizing

Structure the content

• Put the most important information in the first two paragraphs. That’s the section users are most likely to read. In journalism, this technique is called the “inverted pyramid.”

• Large chunks of text can overwhelm readers. Use subheads and bullet points; they provide clear narrative structure for readers in a hurry.

• Put information-carrying words at the beginning of the phrase, and use the active voice.

• Hemingway is a free web app that checks for readability, adverbs, sentence length, and passive voice. Copy and paste content in and run a check!

Be concise

To keep content understandable, concise, and relevant, it should be:

• Specific

• Informative

• Clear and concise

• Brisk but not terse

• Incisive (friendliness can lead to a lack of precision and unnecessary words) but human (not something generated by a faceless machine)

• Serious but not pompous or emotionless—adjectives can be subjective and make the text sound more emotive and like spin

You should:

• Use contractions (such as can’t and won’t)

• Not let caveats dictate unwieldy grammar (for example, say You can rather than You may be able to)

• Use the language people are using

• Use short sentences. Check sentences with more than 25 words to see if you can split them for clarity.

Use plain language

• Never use “click here” as a link — language should describe what your reader will get if they click.

• King County’s word alternatives and phrase alternatives.

Write an error page that helps your user

Error pages are a great way to give your site a human touch when your users need it most.

Make your content accessible

• Use alternative text, or “alt text” to describe the content of images, graphs and charts.

• Use heading tags.

• Write good link text.

• Use lists to organize content.

• Create accessible tables.

• Video and audio should have human-edited captions and transcriptions.

Style guide references

• 18F's Content Guide: the backbone of our web writing best practices.

• CEHD Style Guide: College-specific styles

• UMN Style Manual: University-specific styles

• Address the user: Use “you/your” whenever possible. When referring to the College, unit, or staff, use “we/our/us.”

• Accessible U: University accessibility guidelines