|
| |
| Services > Web writing checklist |
|
|
|
- Copy is a key element of the user experience
- "A conversation between 2 human beings rather than an announcement from manufacturer to consumer" (N. Usborne)
- Make it objective, not promotional
- Listen to what users say, how they say it, then create simple messages that genuinely touch interests shared by the company and its customers
- Work for unique voice, strong character, warm, honest tone
- "Humanity" (Zinsser): be yourself, your style is you
- Avoid technical jargon, marketese, all other insider lingo
- Write copy carefully tuned to current online context and relationship with customer
- Do not overstate, boast, make vague, general claims
- Be there! Keep content fresh, respond personally!
|
|
|
|
- Design (outline, think through) first (Strunk & White)
- Design each paragraph around one main idea--answer a particular question, one main point
- "Omit needless words" (Strunk & White)
- Get straight to the point
- Use narrative - tell me a story! (Zinsser)
- Point back to earlier ideas; drop transitions that refer to missing text--assume readers know about current page only!
- Reduce the number of clauses per sentence (that, which, who clauses).
- Use simple words (e.g. "help," not "assist")
- Don't point off-stage (Web)
- No 'creative' variations on same word (e.g. "screen," then "display")
- Surface the agent and action, so users don't have to guess who does what--active verbs push meaning along, suggest people doing things
- Use short, old real-life nouns that connect with emotions ("door", "dog", "sky")
- Avoid long "concept nouns" (Zinsser), general ideas, often with "...ion" at end, more than 2 syllables
- Avoid too many adjectives, adverbs
- Avoid qualifiers and announcements of next thought
- Place emphatic words at end of sentence
- Make positive statements, so people understand right away--without having to unpack nests of negatives
- Listen to what you write. Read it out loud to notice dead spots, lack of clarity, clumsiness.
- Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite
|
|
|
| Make it alluring |
- Find a fresh way to say it
- Take reader by surprise (short sentence, sudden question)
- Trust your information (material) to make its own point, so readers can bring their own emotions to the story
- Hunt down, destroy all cliches and old, tired phrases
- Use short words, sentences, paragraphs
- Vary sentence length
- Be specific - show, don't tell
- End sentence w/ preposition
- Use sentence fragments
- Begin sentences w/ conjuntions ("But", "And")
- Use one-sentence paragraphs
|
|
|
|
- Print out document and physically mark every fact that requires verification
- Avoid relying on secondary sources
- Confirm and double-check primary sources
- Check spelling, especially proper names
- Proofread all text before going live!
- Copy URLs from digital documents rather than typing them out and risking typos
- Style guides rule!
|
|
|
|
- "Writing is visual. It catches the eye before it catches the brain" (Zinsser).
- Distill to the esssence, especially on navigation pages (destination pages can be more "readable")
- Insert meaningful headlines and subheads (boldface)
- Put links at end of sentences for findability and emphasis
- Highlight key words, phrases, and links
- Turn a series into a bulleted or numbered list
- Reduce page and menu length (scrolling)
- Move repeating categories of information into tables, charts, graphs
- Use punctuation that won't be missed (try to avoid ellisions , abbreviations, colons--use dashes)
- Put the main idea first--make point faster than on paper ('inverted pyramid' style)
- Give examples; use icons, diagrams, graphics to illustrate
- Let users print or save the entire document at once (PDF, etc.) to avoid reading on-screen
|
|
|
|
- Get attention > show a need > satisfy the need > prove superiority and reliability > ask for order
- Keep relationship (social) and closing sale (commercial) separate
- Make pitch at right time, place, in right tone
- Carefully organize your selling points--prioritized and presented in logical order
- Keep selling after sale!
- Drive call to action - tell 'em what they should do!
- Get them going on the right path through the site
- Say enough (not too much or too little) to make sale
|
|
|
|
- Cut any paper-based text by 50%
- Make each paragraph short
- Move vital but tangential or supplemental material
- Beware of cutting so far that text gets ambiguous
- Keep documents short: 600-700 words; if longer – PDF with punchy summary
- Long document – break it up about @ 1,000 words, use ‘page numbering’, encourage reader to ‘click’
- Use pull-quotes to keep interest in long documents
|
|
|
|
- Include key words in body text
- Match keywords and titles
- Use sub-heads – roughly every 5 paragraphs
- Keep headings 8 words or less
- Avoid 'insider' lingo
- Titles and descriptions: start with specific and move to general; should contain relevant keywords.
- Descriptions: who, what, where, when, how; 30-50 words long.
|
|
|
| Make headlines that work |
- Four functions: Get attention (convey a promise); select the audience; deliver a complete message; draw reader into body copy
- 8 headlines that work: Direct; Indirect (arouse curiosity); News; "How to..."; Question ("Does your...?"); Command ("Try..."); Reason why ("7 reasons why..."); Testimonial (w/ photo of source)
- "Avoid irrelevant wordplay, puns, gimmicks, and other copywriter's tricks. They make for amusing advertising, but they do not sell products" (Bly)
- Make them as specific as possible
- Make sure they work well with visuals
|
|
|
|
- Make clear what the user will get from a link via pop up description, short link/big explanation, relevance label (e.g. stars)
- Within a sentence, make the link the emphatic element - usually move to end
- Shift focus from the links or the linked-to documents to the subject at hand - link label should emerge naturally from content flow.
- Provide depth and breadth through plentiful links to related information within site - but be careful with anchored (same-page) links.
- Establish, increase credibility with outbound links
- Write URLs that humans can read
- Make links accessible (i.e. to users w/ special needs) - alt. text, links in text, CSS/XML, relative font sizes, avoid abbreviations + acronyms
- Tell people about a media object before they download it - file size, media type, description of subject matter; warn before and during (status) downloads
- Announce what’s new with special links
|
|
|
|
- Write a heading as an object you will reuse many times--and make it fully expressive of the content (long-ish headings are okay)
- Strive for consistency, logic in menus (via rigorous user experience design and testing)
- Write each menu so it offers a meaningful structure
- Offer multiple routes to the same information--but beware hypertext (web) effects
- Write and display several levels at once (browse indexes)
- When users arrive at the target, make success obvious--especially make title same as link text, visible at top
- Confirm user location by showing the position of information object in hierarchy--e.g. breadcrumbs, highlight current page in menu, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
