Writing for the Web

1
Writing for the Web

• By Donna Reed
• LI 819
• Last updated 5/2008

2
Outcomes

• You will understand the basics of good Web
  writing and will be able to share them with
  others
• You will have a basic understanding about how
  various people use the Web
• You will be able to write usable content for the
  Web
• You will become an advocate for your customers

3
Not a priority because

• Cusotmers are perceived to be are low-income,
  they dont use the Web
• We dont use the Web
• Our customers dont have computers
• Funds are limited services are a priority
• Dont have trained staff

4
You can fix this by

• Sharing information
• Working collaboratively

5
Focus on customers

• Who are customers
• What are they likely to be looking for?
• Are some customers employees?
• Are some customers the media?
• Do your customers vote for your services?

6
The WW rule

• Is anything on your website likely to land you in
  the losers column of Willamette Week (or another
  publication)?

7
Question

• Could you find xyz easily from its parent
  organization?

8
Look at local Internet usage

• Portland, OR is regularly listed as one of the
  most wired cities in the country.
• Portland, OR is regularly listed as one of the
  most unwired cities in the country.
• Citizens of Multnomah County read. Multnomah
  County Library has the highest circulation in the
  country (4th year)

9
Pew Survey

• The July 2003 survey by the Pew Internet
  American Life Project shows that 97 million adult
  Americans, or 77 of Internet users, took
  advantage of e-gov in 2003
• http//www.pewinternet.org/

10
Facts From Pew Study

• Over 73 of adult Americans have Internet access
  (4/2006) Pew
• 42 have broadband access
• 65 of Americans expect government to be on the
  Web
• 78 of Americans 12-17 are on the Web
• 74 of teens have used IM
• Parents are more wired than non-parents

11
Gender Issues

• Males and females use the Internet in equal
  numbers
• Females tend to use the Internet more for
  information (consumer and health)
• Males tend to use interactive features more
• (from Pew study)

12
How to find out

• Look at the countys web statistics
• Ask your customers use a survey
• Perform a usability test
• Conduct a focus group

13
Seniors are on the Web

• Travel
• Financial information
• News, E-mail
• Health information
• Governmental services
• (from Pew study)

14
Elite users

• Use the Web at home and work
• Have high expectations of the governmental
  websites
• Believe the Web fosters social capital
• Vote
• (from Pew study)

15
Elite users use the Web for

• Health care
• Consumer information
• Research
• Express opinions
• (from Pew study)

16
More about elite users

• Elite users are the ones who talk to you via your
  website. They have high expectations of
  governmental website.
• Elite users tend to be community oriented and
  they vote

17
People with disabilities

• Less likely to be online
• Less likely to contact government
• Less likely to have had a successful experience
  with government
• Very likely to prefer non-cyber means of contact
• (from Pew study)

18
Advocates of the disabled

• Use the Web a lot
• Appreciate being able to communicate via the Web
• May not live in your community
• Sometimes become elite users because of their
  experience

19
Question

• Can you think of someone who does not fit the
  profile of an elite user who has come to depend
  on the Web for some aspect of his/her life?

20
Low Literacy

• People with low-literacy skills tend to read
  every word. They do not scan the page. This
  makes writing for them challenging.
• Writing that is good for people with low literacy
  levels is good for all of your customers.

21
People still like the phone

• People still like to use the phone to contact
  government but they also like e-mail.
• A lot of people report that local government is
  making no impact on the way they find
  information.
• This is changing.
• (from Pew study)

22
Problems with govt. Web

• Problems with Web contact
• Doesnt have information
• Difficult to navigate
• Difficulty figuring out which site to go to
• Had problems downloading forms or instructions
• (from Pew study)

23
Generic Web issues

• Web users are on the move.
• Web customers don't read, they scan!
• Once they find what they want, they focus.
• You have to help them find what they want!
• People typically print out things they really
  want to read on the Web.
• People treat Web pages as if they were billboards
  - your job is to design pages that function as
  billboards.

24
continued

• If they really NEED you they might hang in
  longer, but they won't like it.
• Web readers tend to go for the first reasonable
  option.
• If what they want is not there, they might find
  something else, but their information need may
  not have been met.

25
Timesaving Tip Publish Once

• Publish content is for everyone (staff and
  public) on the public website
• Publish content that is for staff only on the
  intranet

26
Rule of thumb

• For staff and public outside the firewall (i.e.
  Internet)
• For staff only inside the firewall (i.e.
  intranet)

27
Keep in mind

• Publicly-funded information is ultimately
  available to all

28
Writing challenges

• To produce content that makes sense to the
  audience
• To make sure that content appears where people
  are looking for it
• To use words that will help, not hinder.

29
Physical vs. web

• In the physical world, we look for visual cues to
  find our way around
• On the Web, we look for words (labels and links)
  to guide us
• See Ambient Findability for more on this

30
Design tricks

• Clump like items together
• Use conventions, they exist because they work
• Keep the page quiet
• Make clickable areas obvious
• Avoid happy talk
• Avoid instructions

31
Happy talk and instructions

• Click on the road signs to find out how to use
  this web page.
• Whats wrong with this message?

32
Reading on a screen

• Is a pain
• Produces headaches, tired eyes
• Can cause neck and back pain
• Can cause nausea
• Reduce words where possible.

33
Editing exercise

• The following text is 103 words. See how few
  words you can come up with

34
Text

• The following questionnaire is designed to
  provide us with information that will help us
  improve the site and make it relevant to your
  needs.
• Please select your answers from the drop-down
  menus and radio buttons below The questionnaire
  should only take you 2 -3 minutes to complete.
  At the bottom of this form you can choose to
  leave your name, address, and telephone number.
  If you leave your name and number, you may be
  contacted in the future to participate in a
  survey to help us improve this site.
• If you have comments or concerns that require a
  response please contact Customer Service.
• From Dont Make Me Think 2d Ed.

35
Edited version

• Now 41 words
• Please help us improve the site by answering
  these questions. It should only take you 2-3
  minutes to complete this survey.
• NOTE If you have comments or concerns that
  require a response dont use this form. Instead
  please contact Customer Service. (link)
• Or Donnas version 31 words
• Please help us improve this website by taking
  this brief survey. It should only take you 2-3
  minutes.
• NOTE If you have need a response, please
  contact Customer Service. (link)

36
Food for thought

• Have you ever heard of the 2 (or 3) click rule?

37
Krugs Rules of Usability

• Don't make me think
• Doesn't matter how many times I have to click as
  long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous
  choice
• Get rid of half the words on each page,then get
  rid of half of what's left.

38
That said, when writing

• Get to the point. Put the main content up front
• Limit background info, link to it
• Write a summary people do read them

39
Mission statements

• People dont read mission statements
• Your agencys mission statement should not appear
  on the homepage
• The mission statement should go in the About
  section
• Ditto for directors photos and bios

40
Use active voice

• Use active voice
• Write in the third person (usually)
• Use action words
• Dont click here to link to the Road District
  Maps
• Do Get the Road District Maps

41
The Homepage

• Keep it clutter-free
• Content should be fresh, updated regularly
• All content should appear on the screen above
  the fold
• Feature real news- the announcements area should
  be used in place of navigation

42
Check your website

• Is the content at the top of the page
• Is it above the fold?
• If not, rethink the design of your navigation
  system

43
How readers read online

• They surf and dive
• They skim until they get what they want
• If theres not something useful on every page,
  they leave
• Be sure theres a banana on every page!
• (thank you Seth Godin Red Fez)

44
About chunks

• Chunks are bite sized pieces of information
• They are self contained
• Their content is condensed
• They are scannable

45
Conventions

• Titles, headings, lists
• Only graphics that contain meaningful visual
  information
• Be aware of changing conventions

46
Example

• Old convention If an organization has an
  address it should be on the homepage of the
  website
• New convention have a link to relevant addresses
  and contact info from all pages on a site
  usually a contact us link at the header of the
  site

47
Welcome convention

• Old type welcome to our website on the homepage
• New make the screen welcoming people will get
  it. Avoid talking about the website.

48
Microcontent

• Page titles
• Taglines
• Indexes
• Navigation systems
• Decks
• Headings sub headings
• Bolded lead ins, highlighted text

49
Microcontent

• Make it explanatory. Each element of your
  microcontent should quickly communicate the
  substance or significance of the associated
  content, ideally from the perspective of your
  target audience. Avoid cute, clever, or generic
  wording. A good test is to imagine that the
  microcontent is the only thing visible on your
  page could your users guess with reasonable
  accuracy what kind of information your page would
  contain?

50
Microcontent

• Make it work out of context. Online, some key
  pieces of your microcontent will get passed
  around, displayed, and linked to in all sorts of
  ways you cant control, or even predict.
  Therefore, your should create page titles,
  headlines, and subheads that make a reasonable
  amount of sense if viewed totally on their own,
  beyond the context of your site. This principle
  also applies to your link text. Visually, links
  stand out from a page like roadsigns. If your
  page is full of links that say click here or
  other such vague terms, your users will feel
  stranded.

51
Microcontent

• Keep it short. Theres a reason they call it
  microcontent. It has to work fast, so it has to
  be short. The trick is to make it as short as
  possible without obscuring its meaning or making
  it awkward. Headlines and subheads should be no
  more than 40-50 characters. Other links ideally
  should be 1-3 words long.

52
And More Microcontent

• Dont overdo it. Good microcontent clarifies and
  directs. Pages with too many microcontent
  elements are like a busy intersection with too
  many roadsigns. As much as possible, limit the
  number of links, subheads, etc. that you present
  on a single page.

53
Minimize microcontent

• 5 to 6 sections per page
• 3-4 emphasized items per section
• Amy Gahran, editor Contentious.com

54
Titles

• lttitlegtxyz Agency name Organization
  namelt/titlegt
• Pay attention to your titles. They may be the
  first thing people see. They are what shows up
  in Google listings.

55
Tip

• If you see a phrase repeated over and over on a
  screen, rethink your labels

56
For example

• Instead of
• About Multnomah County Library
• About the director
• About library policies
• Multnomah County Library hours
• About our board

57
For example

• Use
• About (MCL should be obvious)
• Director Biography
• Policies
• Hours locations
• Library Board

58
Tip

• Feature content about a service first.
• If you need to describe who provides that
  content, make the description a secondary link.

59
Rules of linking

• Links should be words that match the content they
  link to
• Links should not be file names

60
Rules of linking

• If you are going to link to something other than
  another Web file or Web screen warn your
  customer.
• Example Summer Reading Instructions (pdf)
• Not summer_reading.pdf

61
Rules of linking

• Do not link to Word documents or other content in
  proprietary formats unless you have provided
  other options.
• If the content is not important enough to publish
  properly, dont publish it on your website.

62
Rules of linking

• PDFs are easy for you, but be aware, they are not
  always easy for your customers.
• Avoid linking to PDFs from an index page if you
  can.

63
Rules of linking

• Avoid the click here links
• Use informational words in links
• Tip you can cut out a lot of words by creating
  well constructed links!

64
Visuals

• Avoid graphics that do not contain information
• Do not decorate for the sake of prettiness
• If you are not a graphic designer, avoid graphics
  or ask for professional help

65
More on graphics

• Poorly designed graphics, clipart and gratuitous
  graphics make your customers mad.
• Dont send your customers running.
• Bland is better than poorly implemented graphics.

66
Cut the fluff

• Fact to fluff ratio 191
• Web users dont want fluff. Dont waste their
  time.
• Note you do not need to tell folks that they
  are on your Web site. They know it already.
• (thank you Wylie Communications)

67
Voice

• Be sure your content has a friendly voice but not
  one that if full of happy talk or gobble-dee-gook
• Give your writing personality but keep it
  meaningful

68
Jargon

• Avoid jargon
• Use words that people will understand.
• If you need to use jargon, explain it quickly.

69
Words

• Create a style guide and use it
• Is it website, Web site, site, Website, web?
• Avoid using page to refer to a screen
• Avoid using the word homepage to refer to a
  website

70
Dont refer to mechanics

• If you have to instruct, revisit your words
• People know that they are on a computer that is
  connected to the Web and that they are looking at
  a Web page through a browser. You dont need to
  tell them that.
• If they dont know theyre on your site, redesign
  your branding convention

71
Dropdown menus

• Avoid dropdown menus
• People with mobility problems have difficulty
  using them
• Data shows that people dont use them

72
Tips for content creators

• Ask the person posting your content if it is in a
  Web-appropriate format
• Create your agencys website in partnership with
  your website coordinator
• Come up with ways to test the effectiveness of
  your site

73
Tips for web masters

• Dont hesitate to initiate a conversation with
  content creators about the content being posted
  to your website.
• Create a dialog
• Encourage conversation about your Web services

74
Remember the GIGO adage

• Garbage In, Garbage Out