OSC Meeting August 22, 2006

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OSC MeetingAugust 22, 2006
Effective Web Writing
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The Reader is King

• Everything about your website needs to be done
  with the reader in mind.
• The word that sums up what the online reader is
  impatient.
• Users dont read.
• Users scan.

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Actually, Content is King

• Content is what the web is about. Creating
  content is a complex process, from identifying
  your readers and content types through
  publication. Thinking through policies for
  standards and quality assurance will provide you
  with great benefits. Some things to think about
• Will content creation be an individual or
  collaborative process?
• Is there a style guide in place in your
  organization? You may need to come to some
  internal agreement on style and tone.
• Is there a word or phrase glossary within the
  organization that can be leveraged as a
  publishing standard?
• Good editing is a central quality control
  function, and will set your content apart from
  the rest.

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• If its possible to cut out a word, always cut it
  out
• Remember your personas theyre busy,
  impatient people who are on your site to find out
  something
• Question your modifiers a characteristic of bad
  writing is overuse of adjectives and adverbs.
• Its not easy to write less, its harder
• Blaise Pascal, the 17th century philosopher
  summed it up nicely when he said
• I have made this letter longer than usual,
  because I lacked the time to make it shorter

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Be direct

• Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come
  to the end then stop. -- Alices Adventures
  in Wonderland
• Be bold. Be courageous. Dont beat around the
  bush.

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Write winning headlines

• You want people to read what you write, and
  before they decide to read further, they will
  scan your headlines.
• Are your headlines compelling? Do they grab
  attention?

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Be scannable

• Hyperlinks stand out by virtue of being colored
  and underlined, so they should be written to do
  double duty as highlighted keywords.
• Use bulleted and numbered lists.
• Eliminate all references to the web. For example
  refrain from using the phrases like click here
  on a webpage.
• Do not use acronyms or jargon unless they have
  been defined elsewhere on the page. Assume that
  the user, in most cases, has come upon your
  content with no frame of reference.

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The inverted pyramid approach

• Summarize first.
• Journalists have long used the inverted pyramid
  approach -- they begin a story with the
  conclusion, follow it with the most important
  supporting information and end it with
  supplemental background.

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Editing your work

• Ask yourself
• Is this clear?
• Is there a simpler way to say this?
• Is there a shorter way to say this?
• Is this necessary?
• You must be willing to cut anything thats
  ambiguous, overly complex, or inessential.
• Leave enough time
• Print out your work
• Put yourself in the mindset of an editor detach
  yourself

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Before

• If you are saving for your own retirement, or
  your childs college tuition, you may want to
  invest in savings bonds. Series EE bonds offer
  interest rates that are better than what most
  banks can offer. Bonds are also convenient to
  buy. You can buy EE bonds by having money
  deducted from your paycheck, or you can go down
  to your bank and pick up a few bonds, for as
  little as 50 each. Safety? Your bonds are backed
  by the U.S. government. The only way you can lose
  money is if you lose the bond itself. And the
  interest is exempt from state income taxes. You
  can even postpone paying federal income tax on
  the bonds until you cash them in, or they mature.
  Also If you cash in your bonds to pay your
  childs college tuition, the income from the
  bonds is tax free, as long as your gross income
  is below certain limits.

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After

• If you are saving for your own retirement, or
  your childs college tuition, you may
• want to invest in savings bonds. Series EE bonds
  offer
• Interest rates that are better than what most
  banks can offer.
• Convenience -- You can buy EE bonds by having
  money deducted from your paycheck, or you can go
  down to your bank and pick up a few bonds, for as
  little as 50 each.
• Safety -- Your bonds are backed by the U.S.
  government. The only way you can lose money is if
  you lose the bond itself.
• Tax exempt -- The interest is exempt from state
  income taxes. You can postpone paying federal
  income tax on the bonds until you cash them in,
  or they mature.
• College bound -- If you cash in your bonds to pay
  your childs college tuition, the income from the
  bonds is tax free, as long as your gross income
  is below certain limits.

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Questions?
Bill Trevorwilliam.trevor_at_state.ma.us617-626-46
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