Post on 12-May-2015
Writing for the Web
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
2Introduction
Why should we write for Web readers?
To make Web pages work for people.
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
3Overview
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
4Understanding people
To understand the differences between web and print reading we need to consider two principal factors that influence the way we consume web content which include:
• The physical constrains of computer monitors or visual displays;
• Screen dynamics
• The non-linear, semantic of web pages; and
• Other technologies like search engines
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
5Understanding people
To understand the differences between web and print reading we need to consider two principal factors that influence the way we consume web content which include:
• 79% of users always scan; only 16% read word-by-word • Goal focused • Not logical jump around, scrolling and clicking from, readers are impatient • Critical ruthless discarding “hype”
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
6Understanding people
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
7Tips for Web writing
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
8Writing to be found
Titles
• Keep titles short (60 -70 max)
• descriptive (focus on the first word)
• Use powerful language
• Avoid abbreviations
• Accurate and unique (keep track of changing page content )
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
9Writing to be found
Titles
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
10Writing to be found
Sub-titles
• Keep to no more that 3 levels
• Be specific
• Load with key words
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
11Writing to be found
Sub-titles
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
12Writing to be found
Summaries or Pull Quotes
• Help explain what readers will get from your page
• Types of summaries
– executive summary
– key message
– description
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
13Writing to be found
Key message summary
http://www.youtube.com/user/officialjasonmraz?ob=4
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
14Writing to be read
Writing for fast comprehension
• Short is better (should be about 50% less than print)
• Keep paragraphs short (2 -3 sentences)
• Be direct – use inverted pyramid
• Focus your content on task and user goals. What the user wants to do?
• Use lists and tables more frequently and print
• Front end load paragraph sentences and lists with keywords
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
15Writing to be read
Writing for fast comprehension
• Short is better (should be about 50% less than print)
Wireless technology gives you greater choice about when and where to study. The internet opens up vast opportunities for global engagement. So you can …organise and plan your study time to fit around other important things in your lifesearch and find expert opinions from anywhere in the world, and join and participate in any global online community.
However you should also be mindful that …
increased choice and global engagement make learning more challenging, because you have to …make more decisions about your day-to-day studies, and sort through and use the best evidence from the vast amounts of information online.
But you can deal with these challenges by …taking time out to plan where you’re heading and regularly checking your progress, andinvesting time to learn how to make effective use of the search engines available from the online library.
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
16Writing to be read
Writing for fast comprehension
• Focus your content on task and user goals. What the user wants to do?
For example, rather than …
Using email in Blackboard …
Try
Communicating with classmates using email …
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
17Writing to be read
Writing for fast comprehension
Use lists and tables more frequently
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
18Writing to be read
Establish trust with your readers
• Remove the hype or the temptation to sell your content (scrutinize adjectives and adverbs)
• Be honest and objective
• Update pages regularly
April 12, 2023
A presentation to company name | www.newcastle.edu.au
19Writing to be read
Make a connection with your readers
• Personalise the reading experience, conversational style is better
DISCUSSION
A presentation to company name
1 March 2007
CRICOS Provider 00109J | www.newcastle.edu.au