Download web writing with power in 1 hour

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.