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Download web writing with power in 1 hour
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WEB WRITING WITH POWER IN 1 HOUR presented by Uyen Mai, Public Affairs, Cal Poly Pomona This training will cover… • Why good web writing matters • What good web writing looks like • How to reach more audiences Image courtesy of jscreationzs via freedigitalphotos.net WHY BOTHER? Welcome to our site? Universities can be hard to navigate. By thoughtfully organizing a web presence, we can help students and the community find the information they need. Image courtesy of FurUndBeidl via Flickr “A quarter of prospective students decide not to apply to a college because of a bad experience on the college’s web site.” The Chronicle of Higher Education Why now? Image courtesy of Antoine Lefeurve via Wikimedia • Website redesign project = new opportunities • New sites start rolling out spring 2013! • New system offers simple way to update content from anywhere • Easily customize how much access each team member has • New system has tablet and smart phone friendly design WHAT DOES GOOD CONTENT LOOK LIKE? Good web site content is… 1. Well organized • Clearly identifies the site • Clearly shows its relationship to the university • Organizes information in a logical, intuitive way 2. Well written • Easy to understand • Concise • Accurate • Ethical 3. Well presented • Accessible • Visually appealing • Plenty of white space Image courtesy of patpichaya via www.freedigitalphotos.net 1 - Organizing your information • Figure out important content • What services do you offer? About us? Contacts? • Do you need audience specific pages? Ex. Student Services versus Faculty/Staff Services • Organize by the user’s needs Image courtesy of manostphoto via freedigitalphotos.net • Put yourself in your audiences’ shoes Best practice – Stanford University Have a clear identity • First and foremost, we are Cal Poly Pomona • Follow our logo guidelines for the web (graphic standards) • Include a link to the Cal Poly Pomona home page • Use our university colors • Make it easy for people to understand: • Who you are • What you do • Whom you serve • How to get more information Best practice – Armstrong Atlantic State University 2 – Good web sites are well written Which is easier to read? There are many ways to make your web site easier to read. Highlighting keywords by bolding, highlighting or making them a link help make the key ideas pop. Lists of ideas should be organized in easy to scan bullets. When writing the text, just put one key idea per paragraph. It’s important to keep your text short and concise. Also, don’t assume people will read through the page, so make your important points at the top of the page. Things that make web pages easier to read: • Highlighted keywords • Organized lists 1. 2. Bulleted lists Numbered lists • One key idea per paragraph • Important points at the top • Short and concise wording Write for the web Start by identifying the main idea of the page. • Identify the target audience • Identify the takeaway messages Organize key information at the top Offer one key idea per paragraph Short and concise wording Make the text easy to skim • Use bullets and lists • Highlight keywords and phrases Write for the audience • Recognize your key audiences • Consider separating information based on their needs. • Write from your audiences’ point of view • Don’t assume they understand our organizational chart • Clearly identify for them who you are, what you do • Clarify other partners or departments who can help them • Add links to help them navigate the campus web and find their needs Use active voice (usually) • ACTIVE • The subject is doing something with an object • PASSIVE • The subject is not the active player in the sentence • The subject is being acted upon Write this… Not that… The speaker provided examples Examples were provided by the speaker Facilities staff will test alarms Alarms will be tested by facilities staff Professors encourage hands-on learning Hands-on learning is encouraged by professors Cut the fluff • Stick to the purpose of the web page • Avoid weak phrases with little meaning Write this… Not that… If In the event of Upon these circumstances Because Due to the fact that For the following reasons Can Have the ability to In the position to Could possibly Will Will have the opportunity to Will help to (blank) You may want to consider It may appear Needless to say Be accurate • Follow approval process • Each department usually has an approval process • Make sure you know and follow your department’s process • Consider outside issues • Check your text from the readers’ viewpoints • Are there any legal issues? Privacy issues? • Any partners to reference or acknowledge? Image courtesy of renjith krishnan via freedigitalphotos.net • Confirm your facts • Always double check dates, times, locations, numbers and figures • Use the right sources to base your information • Help people contextualize the information – is the data old or new? Is it current and relevant to them? 3 – Good web sites are well presented • Accessible to the visually impaired • Visually appealing • Carefully incorporate Multimedia • Can be images, graphics, audio, video • To help tell the story, not clutter Content is structured and labeled • Title your page • Search engines utilize these • Use original titles • Include keywords people search with • Use headlines and subheadings • Include keywords people search with • Aim for functional, not clever • Highlight keywords • Use bulleted or numbered lists Content is descriptive • Reach more viewers by keeping your site accessible • Hyperlinks - choose descriptive phrases • WRITE THIS: More information is available in the Social Media Whitepaper. • NOT THIS: More information is available by clicking here. • Alt Tag - for visually impaired it describes the image • WRITE THIS: The United States flag • NOT THIS: Rectangular fabric with 13 alternating stripes of red and white as well as a blue box in the upper left containing 50 white stars. • Transcrips/Captions – Transcribe audio for people who cannot or do not wish to view/hear the content. Videos should be captioned. Content respects copyrighted material • Faculty and staff are free to use Public Affairs photos for Cal Poly Pomona business • Contact Tom Zasadzinski, (909) 869-3404, [email protected] • Get guilt-free images on creative commons and photo sites. (See additional resources) • Check for licensing terms. • Make sure to attribute if it is required. • You can avoid attribution of the image by purchasing usage rights, ranging from about $1 to $20. Example 1: Campus Photo Database • Canto Cumulus Sites https://photo.csupomon a.edu/Sites/ • Faculty/staff login with your Bronco username/password • Keyword searches • Sort results by date from older to newer, newer to older Example 2 Wikimedia Commons • Wikimedia Creative Commons • Just attribute the owner • Ex. Image courtesy of Antoine Lefeurve via Wikimedia Commons Author Name Licensing Info HOW TO REACH MORE AUDIENCES Write to be found in a web search • Use common keywords people would use when they • • • • search for you on the web Write useful content relevant to those keywords Update your content regularly Increase incoming links to your material so your site is considered trustworthy and relevant Place keywords in your • Page Title • Heading and Subheading • Body Image courtesy of Danard Vincente via Flickr Creative Commons Finding keywords • Google Keyword Suggestions https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal • Type in a keyword • See other related keywords and their popularity Make the site accessible • Keep high contrast between color of text and background • Fill in the alternate text (or alt tags) to describe images • Provide hyperlink descriptions that make sense • WRITE THIS: A list of programs is available. NOT THIS: For programs, click here. • Caption video • Transcribe audio Create a network • Link back and forth to related concepts • Are there related programs you can acknowledge? • Do people confuse your services with another program? Acknowledge that and provide a hyperlink. • Are there partner organizations you can consider? • Ex. Public Affairs is the central communication office, but we provide links to other communications on campus, like the student paper. • Cite your sources • Acknowledges they are a resource • Helps them build their brand identity • Helps you build your credibility • Helps the reader understand the campus better • Ex. Link to Financial Aid if you are citing their statistics. • Provide links for additional information • You don’t have to reinvent the wheel Additional Resources • University Library guide: “Finding Content for Reuse” • http://libguides.library.csupomona.edu/content.php?pid=402390 • Best Practices: Writing for the Web • http://www.uakron.edu/webteam/docs/dm_webwriting.pdf • SEO Copyrighting Made Simple • http://www.copyblogger.com/seo-copywriting/ • Free and low cost image options • http://www.freedigitalphotos.net (free options in small sizes) • http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons (attribute to the owner) • http://commons.wikimedia.org (attribute to the owner) • http://www.istockphoto.com (about $2 a photo) • http://www.shutterstock.com (high end, but gorgeous!) • Campus photographs • Tom Zasadzinski, (909) 869-3404, [email protected] https://photo.csupomona.edu/Sites/ THANK YOU.
