Writing for the Web

Best practices when writing for the web.

Have a goal and priorities

Be strategic and have a purpose. Understand the objective behind what you are posting for the user.

• Do: Think about if the information is essential: does the user really need to know this?
• Avoid: content such as mission and vision statements, information that takes the user away from their task.

Use the appropriate voice

Keep the text active, friendly, and positive.

• Do: “As you wait to hear from HR about your background clearance, please complete your paperwork.”
• Avoid: “While you wait to hear from HR about your Background Clearance, work on your paperwork.”

Embrace brevity

Be short and concise in everything you do. Less really is more when being direct and getting to the point for your visitors.

• Think 2-3 sentences to get your main idea across
• Use headers to indicate top-level importance
• Try out bullets to highlight steps
• Chunk content
• Be sure not to complicate your message.

Write for your audience

Make it people-centric, rather than department-centric. Put audience needs first, writing in a way they will understand by using “you”.

• Do: “Get all the information you need to become a volunteer.”
• Avoid: “A volunteer should be sure to read all the information below to be effective.”

Develop visual copy

Think about content placement and alignment on the page. Use text, images, and video that are complimentary. Preview your work to ensure flow. Avoid cluttering the page, white space is your friend and maintaining balance is key to reaching your users.

Review grammar and punctuation

As always, proofread your text for correct word usage and spelling. Spellcheck is not always reliable. Some tips:

• Capitalization: When writing for the web, steer away from title-style caps for headings, subheadings, and labels. Capitalization is often used unnecessarily for emphasis or incorrectly.
• Use contractions: It’s easier for the user to understand and gives a bit more of an informal, casual tone.
• Avoid exclamation points: What are you shouting about? Is it necessary to yell about this information?
• Numbers: Anything under 10 should be displayed in words. Anything above 10, use figures.
• Dates and times: Always write the date, century, and time in full.
  • Do: Monday, November 30, 2015
  • Do: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Hyphens: Most words can be written without using a hyphen. Check your dictionary if in doubt.