Writing for Web A Workshop by Web Services

Why Write for Web? (a.k.a Why Are We Here?)

Writing for Web is about providing a positive experience for the people who visit your website.

What Makes Effective Web Writing? Good web writing = good writing Good writing means considering: – Why are you writing? (Purpose / Intent)

– Who are you writing for? (Audience / Readers / Users)

Purpose: Why Are You Writing? “We want prospective students to see how unique our program is.”

“I want to keep alumni informed about the events that we offer.” “I’m writing about my experience at K for an online publication.”

“Students need access to the forms available from our office.”

“I just need to let people know about important dates and deadlines.”

Most web pages are written to provide information.

Audience: Who Are You Writing For? • Students, teachers, staff, parents, community members, the world, etc. • Web Users Possible audience for a K College website

How Do Users Read Web Pages?

They don’t; they scan.

In an average visit to a web page, most users will read only 20% of the words on the screen. (Based on Weinreich, Obendorf, Herder, & Mayer, 2008)

Eyetracking Web Usability (Nielsen & Pernice, 2009)

5 Guidelines for Web Writing 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Write concisely Make your writing scannable Put important things first, details last Use language that everyone understands Build credibility with meaningful links

1. Write Concisely “Remember that most web users don’t want to read much. They want to grab information. The key to successful writing on the web is to let go of the words without losing the essential messages.” -Ginny Redish Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works

1. Write Concisely

“Omit needless words.”

-Steve Krug Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Usability

2. Make Your Writing Scannable • Create whitespace • Write excellent headings • Organize text with bulleted & numbered lists

3. Put Important Things First, Details Last

In journalism, we call this structure “The Inverted Pyramid.”

The Inverted Pyramid The Lead: who, what, where, when, why & how? The most important stuff goes first. ---------------------------------------------

BODY Develop your story with supporting information and references.

------------------------As the story goes on, details should be less & less important. From Stockton College http://wp.stockton.edu/esposito/journalism-basics/

4. Use Language Everyone Understands

• No Jargon • No “Marketese” • No “Academese”

4. Use Language Everyone Understands

“Writing informally is not ‘dumbing down.’ It’s communicating clearly. It’s writing so that busy people can understand what you are saying the first time that they read it.” -Ginny Redish Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works

A Case Study: California Jury Instructions Before

After

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Proof that leaves you with an abiding conviction that the charge is true.

A preponderance of the evidence.

More likely than not.

Failure of recollection is common. Innocent misrecollection is not uncommon.

People often forget things or make mistakes in what they remember.

5. Build Credibility With Meaningful Links

Write link text that tells visitors what they can expect to happen when they click on it.

5. Build Credibility With Meaningful Links

• Avoid “More” and “Click here” • Match link text with the page it connects to • Include file type and size information (if the link is to a file, like a PDF)

Waubonsee Community College “Student Experience” Page Revision

Reading Recommendations Topic

Books

Websites

Writing for Web

Letting Go of the Words (2nd ed.) by Janice (Ginny) Redish ISBN: 978-0123859303 2012

http://www.nngroup.com/topic/writing-web

Website Usability

Don’t Make Me Think (2nd ed.) by Steve Krug ISBN: 978-0321344755 2006

http://usability.gov/

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/

Plain Language Content Strategy

Content Strategy for the Web (2nd ed.) by Kristina Halvorson ISBN: 978-0321808301 2012

References Krug, S. (2006). Don’t make me think: A common sense approach to web usability (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: New Riders Publishing. Nielsen, J. (1997, October 1). How users read on the web. Nielsen Norman Group: User Experience Training, UX Consulting, and Usability Research Reports. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved from http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-onthe-web/ Nielsen, J., & Pernice, K. (2009). Eyetracking Web Usability. Berkeley, CA: New Riders Publishing. Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN). (n.d.). Plain Language and Jury Instructions. PlainLanguage.gov: Improving communication from the federal Government to the public . Retrieved from http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/before_after/jury.cfm Redish, J. (2007). Letting go of the words: Writing web content that works. San Francisco, CA: Elsevier Inc. Weinreich, H., Obendorf, H., Herder, E., & Mayer, M. (2008, February). Not Quite the Average: An Empirical Study of Web Use. ACM Transactions on the Web, 2(1), 126.

QUESTIONS? Jessica Schlueter [email protected]