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It is critical that you keep checking your website at all stages in its production. Pause, test and discuss what you are doing with colleagues - get a second opinion. You are also welcome to seek advice from the Web Team at any stage in the creation of your site.

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Writing for the web

Writing for the web is very different from writing for print.

Everyone who visits your website does so because they want to complete a task. They may want to find a piece of information, or contact someone, or apply for something. The content of your website must be based around helping your visitors to complete their tasks. The web is a user-led medium.

Seven simple steps to writing better web content

  1. Omit needless words - remove half of the words on a page and then try to remove half of what's left.
    • If possible avoid small talk/padding - web visitors want to get at the content.
    • Keep your instructions to a bare minimum.
    • Use bulleted lists where possible.
  2. Think about your audience and what they want.
  3. Links must describe what a user will get when they select them - 'click here' is not acceptable. e.g. See the section on links that work
  4. Try to avoid dead end pages - pages work best if they end in an action.
  5. Be clear and unambiguous - avoid jargon and abbreviations.
  6. Be consistent in your use of punctuation and grammar (see consistency guidelines).
  7. Use headings correctly - they are the backbone of any web page (see headings and emphasis).

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