Writing for the Web
Most people do not read word-for-word when reading online. They scan instead. They are also likely to skip or ignore large chunks of text or content that is not relevant to their immediate goal.
When writing for the Web, aim for a concise style of writing that uses clear and simple language, can be understood by your audience, and is organized into clearly labeled sections.
Use plain English
Plain English is a writing strategy that can help improve communication. It involves:
- familiar, everyday words
- short, simple sentences
- active, rather than passive voice.
Use familiar, everyday words
Using everyday words makes content easier to read and understand. Here are some examples:
- buy, instead of acquire
- start, instead of commence
- stop, instead of cease
- think about instead of contemplate
Use short, simple sentences
Sentences that are short and simple make content easier to absorb. Long sentences that include a number of clauses quickly become confusing and may be misunderstood.
Use the active voice
Most sentences have three parts:
- Subject (the, person, group or thing doing the action)
- Verb (the action)
- Object (the person, group or thing to which the action is done)
With active voice the subject of a sentence takes the action, while with passive voice the subject is acted upon. For example:
- Active: Maria returned the book to the library.
- Passive: The book was returned to the library by Maria.
Using the active voice makes writing clear, direct and dynamic. It can also help reduce the length of sentences.
Know what you are trying to say
A lot of writing lacks a clear goal. If you aren't sure of what you're trying to say, your writing will suffer.
When writing or reviewing Web content, write a list in point form of the things you want to say. Check your written content against this list and remove anything that doesn't need to be there.
- Do not publish until content is complete
- Don't publish pages with "under construction" or "more information coming soon" messages. These pages can frustrate users looking for information. Either the content exists or it doesn't.
- Don't publish pages without first having them reviewed and edited.
Write for your audience
It is important to keep your audience in mind when writing. Before you write anything, consider:
- Who is your audience?
- What are they looking for?
- What do they know about the topic?
- What are their reasons for reading this page?
- Will they understand your jargon, acronyms, abbreviations?
Write content that is concise, easy to scan and objective
Usability improves when writing is concise, easy to scan, and when it gets straight to the facts rather than being boastful, fluffy, or pushy.
Concise
- cut all unnecessary words, phrases and sentences
- use a shorter word over a longer one
- use the active voice
- print out and edit your text - aim to cut it in half
- get a colleague to edit it with these aims in mind
Scannable
- use headings and subheadings to break text into smaller chunks
- make sure headings accurately summarize or describe the following text
- keep paragraphs short; stick to one topic per paragraph and introduce it in the first sentence
- use short, simple sentence structures; one thought per sentence
- emphasize key words or phrases by bolding them - but don't overdo it
- use bulleted lists
- use images, graphs, charts or tables where they might convey complex information more quickly.
Objective
- stick to the facts
- don't use promotional writing
- don't exaggerate or boast
- don't make claims without providing evidence
- don't use buzzwords or jargon.
Lay out pages well
- chunk text on the page into sub-topics
- don't centre headings or text
- don't use right or full justification - this can make reading difficult
