Web & Social Media
When writing for the Web and Social Media, the鈥疉ssociated Press Style Book鈥痑nd the鈥疢erriam-Webster Dictionary鈥痮nline will remain your primary reference.鈥疶he Microsoft Manual of Style鈥痑nd鈥疶he Yahoo! Style Guide鈥痬ay also be referenced.鈥疉s with other sections of this Writing Style Guide, this content is continually updated, and your suggestions for updates and additions are welcome.鈥�
Primary Differences Between Web and Traditional Writing |
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Shape your text for online reading鈥� |
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Text that works best on the Web is text that gets to the point fast and that makes it easy for readers to pick out key information. Online reading is an experience that鈥檚 different from reading text in print. Most online readers scan first, looking at headings, boldfaced terms and images. They are more likely to scan the top of the page than the bottom to see if the content is relevant.鈥� |
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Get to the point鈥� |
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Your content has a few seconds 鈥� three or less 鈥� to encourage people to read more, take action, or navigate to another of your pages.鈥疐our鈥痝uidelines for effective online writing are:鈥�
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Write for the World鈥� |
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Even though you are writing for a specific audience, your actual audience may have a variety of characteristics you haven鈥檛 considered. For example, they may have disabilities that affect how they access and navigate your site; they may also be older or younger than you realize, more or less proficient in reading comprehension, and more or less knowledgeable in the subject matter of your site. Also, your site may be viewed all over the world where English is not the first language.鈥疻rite to appeal to鈥痶he widest possible audience by鈥痥eeping words and sentences short and simple;鈥痷se鈥痝ender-neutral terms whenever possible; avoid location-specific references鈥痑nd culture-specific slang or puns.鈥� |
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Help people navigate鈥� |
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Usability refers to how easily site visitors can interact with a site to achieve their goals.鈥疦ot every visitor will start on your homepage, so provide direction on every page. Give viewers calls to action about where to go next on your site. Write clear links and use clickable phrases.鈥�(You could鈥痺in a scholarship.鈥痳ather than 鈥淐lick on鈥�︹�� to鈥痩earn about scholarships.鈥�) 鈥淐lick here to 鈥︹�� is wordy and sounds dated. Action instructions, such as 鈥淟earn more鈥� or 鈥淩egister now鈥� are better choices.鈥� |
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Make the right content choices鈥� |
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Should be based on audience, goal, audience requirements,鈥痬eans鈥痮f accessing your information, measurability, as well as budget and schedule constraints.鈥� |
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Text for the web |
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Users are more likely to scan online text than read it. They decide very quickly if content is relevant to them, and searching is their most common behavior. With a glance, users should be able to have a rough idea of what your content is about. |
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Make text鈥� scannable |
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Users are more likely to scan online text than read it. They decide quickly if content is relevant.鈥� |
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Organize your text |
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Put the most important information first; give the conclusion first, use short, focused paragraphs, use notes and tips that focus on your main point, use plain language.鈥� |
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Use links 鈥� intelligently |
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Using links to related information can help keep your content concise and鈥痵cannable. Descriptive link titles are critical.鈥�� Note: When writing for the web, avoid underlining anything, as it can be confused with a hyperlink.鈥� |
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Video content |
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Video content鈥痜or the web, if鈥痙one well鈥痑nd with good user instructions, does a better job of telling your story.鈥� |
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Blogs |
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Blogs鈥痑re a good way to provide users with ongoing, regular communications. They should frequent and on a regular schedule.鈥� |
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