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Glasgow Caledonian University
Guide to Writing for the Web
GCU: Web Writing Guide
Introduction
Writing for the web differs from print.
Readers take 25% longer to read text on screen but they only absorb a fraction of
the information.
The eye tends to scan rather than read on-screen, so text has to be presented in
short, concise sentences, using simple and informal language.
-
Use sub-headings and bullet points to break up longer copy and make the
page easier on the eye.
-
The most important, relevant and eye catching information should be as
high up the page as possible.
-
Keep your pages tight to cut down on the need for repeated scrolling.
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Try to say exactly what you would in print with half the word count.
Web writing should be more conversational and informal than print. Use active
language, avoid passive sentences and headings.
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Passive example: The boy was hit by the girl.
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Active example: The girl hit the boy.
Guide to Writing for the Web
Try to contain one idea to each paragraph, be clear and direct. Avoid long
rambling sentences (try to adhere to a 20 word limit)
-
If you can cut a word out, cut it out.
-
Ask yourself; is there a simpler way to say this?
-
There will always be exceptions but generally try to impose a 600 word
limit on all pages.
-
Keep it short and interesting.
-
Think of possible links to build in to the copy as hyperlinks
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Try to include a few keywords or phrases for Search Engine Optimization.
Jonathan Paisley, Web Content Officer, Glasgow Caledonian University, 0141 331 8659
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Writing for the Web Tips
1. Know your audience
Before typing a single character, you should consider three important things:
1. Who are your readers?
2. What is the main goal of your web page(s)?
3. What do you want them to think, feel and do as a result of reading your content?
Being clear about these things in advance will make it easier for you to create effective,
targeted web content that engages your audience and achieves your aims.
2. Provide useful information
There are four main questions on the minds of most visitors to your web pages:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Who are you?
What’s on this page?
Why should I care?
How do I find out more?
Your content should focus on answering these questions as quickly and concisely as
possible. If you are promoting something, for example a course, event or business service,
you should aim to answer every possible doubt or question they could have, at the same
time as stressing what’s in it for them.
3. Write effective headlines
Your headline is important because it quickly tells the reader where they are in the website
and introduces the content on the page. Headlines should be clear rather than clever, and
the most important thing is to quickly convey what’s on that page.
For example: “Engineering Courses at Glasgow Caledonian University” is clearer
than “About Our Courses” and contains keywords (see Writing for search engines).
Marketing headlines are slightly different as they need to grab attention and provide a benefit
(see Writing web content that sells), and news/case study/feature/blog post headlines can be
more creative (while still imparting information). Headlines on informational pages should
primarily signpost what’s on the page, although you can also add a second level of headline
to include something more actionable. For example:
Physiotherapy Courses at Glasgow Caledonian University
Train for a rewarding career in physiotherapy
As the above example illustrates, headlines are also a good place to insert keywords (see
Writing for search engines).
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More info: Get some tips on different types of headline from “How to write headlines
that work” - www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-headlines-that-work/
4. Write like a journalist
Studies have shown that many people don’t scroll down to read all of the information on web
pages, so your most important content should be included, or at least signposted, in the top
half of the page – above the fold.
That’s why you should use the inverted pyramid writing style when writing for the Web, and
try to start your page with a clear headline and a short introductory paragraph, or standfirst,
which can be presented in bold to make it stand out.
This is a technique used by newspaper journalists who start each story with a summary of
the most important information – the lead – and then fill in the details and supporting
information. The inverted pyramid style in newspapers lets readers get the essentials of
every story just from reading the opening paragraph (and headline). This is in contrast to the
traditional pyramid writing style of building slowly to a conclusion.
More info: Take a look at www.bbc.co.uk to see how their headlines and standfirsts
work to give readers an overview of the content and help them decide whether or not
the article is worth reading.
TIP: Try writing your summary paragraph last.
5. Use sub headlines
Use subheads to break up longer copy and make it easy to scan. Focus on making your
subheads descriptive rather than too clever to indicate what content is contained in the text
below. Place your subheads at regular, fairly uniform intervals in longer content.
Subheads are also a good place to insert keywords (see Writing for search engines).
Tip: After you have written your page, skim read it quickly. You should get a good
idea of the content of the page just from reading the headline, opening paragraph
and subheads.
6. Break up your text
People don’t want to be faced with a solid block of text when they access a web page, as it
suggests they will have to work hard to read all the information.
Use short sentences and short paragraphs to make the page more accessible. If you have to
include a lot of text – longer than 300-400 words – use subheads (see above) to break up
the text and make it scannable, and vary the length of your paragraphs to make it easier on
the eye.
Tip: When looking for places to break your content into shorter paragraphs, try to
stick to one idea, point or topic per paragraph.
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7. Focus on your readers
The focus of your content should always be on your target audience. As an informal
medium, the Web is perfect for talking directly to your audience, which helps engage them
and build rapport.
For example: “Your pizza will arrive within 30 minutes” is better than “We deliver our
pizzas within 30 minutes”. You have already transferred ownership of the pizza in the
mind of the reader.
Of course, you should mention your own achievements, awards, success, etc, to build
credibility, but always try to think about what this means for your readers and how they will
benefit.
Tip: After you’ve written your page, do a search for “our” and “we”. If there are a lot
of them, try reworking the text to focus more on the reader.
8. Use the active voice
Writing in the active rather than the passive voice makes your content more engaging and
readable. Try reading your content out loud to yourself when finished. You may attract some
funny looks, but you’ll get a good indication of how well it flows and how engaging it is.
For example:
Passive: “Further information can be obtained from Learning Services.”
Active: “Get more information from Learning Services.”
Passive: “The course has been completed by 550 students.”
Active: “550 students have completed the course.”
More info: “Use the active voice” - www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html#11
9. Be clear and concise
Brevity is your friend online. Never use two or three words where one will do, and stick to
simple language
For example: “Flash Lightning is fast, easy-to-use and cost-effective” is better than
“Our new widget, Flash Lightning, is, as the name suggests, exceptionally fast. It is
also very easy for people to use and creates an abundance of cost efficiencies.”
Your main focus should be on answering the “what”, “where”, “when”, “who”, “why” and
“how” for your readers as quickly and concisely as possible. The rule of thumb is that your
content should be only as long as it needs to be to convey the necessary information.
More info: “Omit needless words” - www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html#13
Tip: After writing your first draft, go back and try to slash at least 10% of your word
count. Do the same with your second draft, third and so on. Focus on cutting fluff
(non-essential content), redundant words and repetition.
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10. Avoid jargon
Avoid using acronyms, abbreviations and jargon. Remember you are writing for an external
audience that may not be familiar with the vocabulary used within the university, including
abbreviations of department names. When in doubt, refer to the Style Guide for correct
usage.
More info: “Plain English” - www.gcal.ac.uk/learnersupport/csd/plainenglish
11. Link, link, link...
The great advantage of the Web is its interactivity. Not only can you add images, video,
audio and other multimedia elements to enhance your written content, but you can also link
to other pages, documents and websites.
Tip: Think of your web page as an interactive, dynamic page rather than a static
Word document.
Link to relevant pages where possible, but don’t go overboard as the page will look messy.
And remember to only link to necessary and relevant information. Otherwise you risk losing
your reader to another website. Always use the active voice when linking, and label them
descriptively instead of writing “Click here”, “Handy link” or “Go to Web page”.
For example: Write “Learn more about a career in physiotherapy.” instead of “For
more information on a career in physiotherapy, click here.”
If you create a resource page containing links to, for example, physiotherapy career
information, write a short description of the content being linked to under each link.
For example:
Physiobase – Online Physiotherapy Community
A large physiotherapy forum and information archive, containing message boards,
useful links and other sources of physiotherapy information.
Keep linked phrases to a few words, rather than entire sentences, and try to include
important keywords to help your search engine rankings (see Writing for search engines).
For example, if ranking highly for physiotherapy-related keywords is important to you, the
above example shows how you can add three instances of “physiotherapy” into your web
page very easily. That’s why a list of keyword-rich links and descriptive text is an excellent
way to make your pages more search engine friendly.
Tip: Remember to periodically check that all your links work, as broken links frustrate
readers.
If your link goes to a downloadable document, include details of the file type and size, and
try to name the document clearly so the reader can find it easily on their PC.
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For example: Name the document “MSc Building Services Engineering Application
Form.pdf” instead of “application form.pdf” and write the link as, “Download the MSc
Building Services Engineering Application Form (pdf, 35Kb)”.
It also a good idea to write a short, one-line description of the file to be downloaded
underneath the link.
12. Use lists
Lists break up content to make the page easier on the eye and help readers pick up the
most important information quickly. Short lists are better than long lists, and you should only
number your lists if it’s a step-by-step process or prioritised list. Otherwise, use bullets and
keep each bullet point short.
For example: The following text could just as easily be presented as a list - “The
benefits of our new widget include the ability to save time and money. It’s also easyto-use and requires little or no training. You can buy in bulk and we offer next-day
delivery to your door.”
Here’s the list version:
Benefits:




Save time and money
Easy-to-use
No training required
Fast delivery available
13. Add multimedia
Where relevant, add video and audio to give your audience a choice of how to consume your
content, and to give you the opportunity to deliver that content to a wider audience, eg
through YouTube. You can also benefit from social networking sites such as Facebook. For
example, you can start a Facebook group or page for your School or to promote an event.
Blogs can also help you add keyword-rich content (see Writing for search engines), build
links to your web pages and reach a wider online audience.
You can also consider using social bookmarking tools such as Digg it, Stumble Upon and
delicious.
14. The 3-second scan
A visitor to your web page may spend as little as five seconds, or even less, scanning the
page to see if it’s of interest to them. That’s why a solid block of text with no subheads and
paragraphs of the same length drives people away.
After writing your page, scan it for a couple of seconds and ask yourself these questions:
1. Did I get an overview of what’s on this page?
2. Did the the content draw me in to spend longer reading?
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If the answer is “no” to one or both of these questions, review your content to see how you
can make it more scannable using some of the tips in this guide.
15. Add a call to action
A call to action is often necessary if you want your reader to do something specific after
reading the content on a page. This could be sign up to a newsletter, request information,
download a document or another action.
Try to write a specific call to action, rather than just “Click here”, eg “Sign up now to receive
course updates”.
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Writing for search engines
Why write for the search engines?
School-leavers and others within your target market are more likely than not to use an
Internet search engine such as Google or Yahoo to search for information related to your
school, course, event, news story or subject area.
While people do search for specific information, companies or products, eg “Glasgow
Caledonian University”, most of the time they search for answers to specific questions, eg
“how to become an engineer”, or solutions to specific problems, eg “funding for postgraduate
study”.
Writing your content with the search engines in mind can help your target market find you
online.
What are keywords?
Keywords are the words and phrases people use to search online. Their queries reveal what
they are looking for. Often users begin with a more general search, such as “physiotherapy”,
and then narrow down their results by adding specifics, such as “physiotherapy courses in
Scotland”.
The goal for all websites should be to rank as highly as possible in the search engine results
pages – ideally on the first page or no lower than the top three pages – for keywords
relevant to their content, services and products.
It’s easier to rank higher for specific keyword phrases than general keywords. For example,
“physiotherapy” generates nearly 5 million results, whereas “physiotherapy courses in
Scotland” generates 131,000 and “postgraduate physiotherapy courses in Scotland”
generates 26,700.
By strategically sprinkling your web pages with keywords, you can benefit from the free
publicity offered by the Web and target people searching for what you have to offer.
What is search engine optimisation?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of your web
pages in Google, Yahoo and other search engines to make it easier for your target market to
find you in the search engine results pages.
The easiest way to improve your search engine rankings is to make your content as search
engine friendly as possible by including relevant keywords in your text.
Search engines love:

Fresh, regularly updated content, eg blogs and news pages
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Guide to Writing for the Web
Web pages containing keyword-rich content targeted at one particular audience or
revolving around one main subject area, eg Engineering or Computer Science
Keyword-rich links (See Link, link, link...) between your pages and other relevant web
pages
How to research keywords
The first step in optimising your pages for search engines is to undertake a little keyword
research. Make a list of the keywords your target market might use to search for information
related to your web pages. Professional search engine specialists spend many hours
compiling huge lists of keywords. You don’t need to go to those lengths. The most important
thing is to be aware of your main keywords and know how to fit them into your web content.
Here are four easy ways to find your important keywords:
1. Look at your existing web pages to find important keywords in the content
2. Browse your competitors' sites to find keywords you may have missed
3. Find new keywords by putting yourself in the mindset of someone searching for the
information you offer
4. Use some of the tools listed in Resources
How to add keywords to your content
Always write for your human audience first, rather than trying to shoehorn keywords in to
your text from the start. If you are writing about a specific topic for a specific audience, you’ll
find that a lot of your keywords will appear naturally. When you have a first draft, go back
through it to see where you can insert more keywords without spoiling the readability and
flow of your content.
Where to place keywords?
Ideally you should look to place your main keyword in your headline, first paragraph, last
paragraph and any relevant links and subheads. Then try to sprinkle keywords around the
rest of your content, without going overboard and making it unreadable.
The ideal length for content on a web page should be no more than 400 words. You can add
more content, and therefore more opportunities to insert keywords, by adding lists of links
(see example below), short summaries of the content on pages you link to and testimonials
or case studies.
Ideally you should focus on one main keyword and a couple of secondary keywords on each
page.
Keywords in a list of links example (keywords in bold):
Find out more about studying Physiotherapy in Glasgow
Browse undergraduate Physiotherapy courses
Browse postgraduate Physiotherapy courses
Learn more about a career in Physiotherapy
Keywords in text example (keywords in bold):
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1. No keywords:
About our courses
Our courses are recognised by employers around the UK and abroad, and our
graduates have an excellent employment rate in a variety of fields. We offer some of
the best facilities in the country, and you will undertake placements in NHS hospitals,
as well as in private practices, to gain valuable experience that will help you in your
future career.
Click here to find out more.
2. Good number of keywords:
Physiotherapy Courses at Glasgow Caledonian University
Train for a rewarding career in physiotherapy
Our physiotherapy courses are recognised by employers around the UK and
abroad, and our graduates have an excellent employment rate in a variety of
physiotherapy fields. We offer some of the best facilities in the country, and you will
undertake placements in the physiotherapy departments of NHS hospitals, as well
as in private practices, to gain valuable experience that will help you in your future
career as a physiotherapist.
Tip: Use plurals to cover your bases, eg “engineering courses” can be found by people
searching for “engineering course” and “engineering courses”.
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Writing web content that sells
Now and then you may want to promote an event or create content that sells as well as
informs. Here are a few tips to writing effective promotional copy for the Web:

Before you start, be clear about your audience, main messages and desired
response.

Write a headline or tagline that grabs attention and ideally expresses the main benefit
to the reader (see “How to write headlines that work” - www.copyblogger.com/howto-write-headlines-that-work/).

Address a “problem” faced by the target market, eg “Looking for something to do this
weekend?”

Focus on the “what’s in it for me?” - the benefits to the reader.

Build your credibility by adding testimonials, case studies, stats and other supporting
information.

Give the reader all the information they need to make a decision and address all of
the possible concerns or doubts they could have. For example, if you are promoting
an event, state whether or not parking is available or food will be served, and provide
clear directions.

Include a clear, descriptive call to action, eg “Get your guide to Physiotherapy
careers.” instead of “Click here.”

Write as you speak and use the tone and language most suited to your target
audience.

Talk directly to your reader.

Keep to the point and don’t get bogged down in details.

Make good use of subheads and bulleted lists to break up longer copy and help skim
readers.

Use bold (sparingly) to highlight important words and phrases for skim readers.
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Checklist
Before hitting “publish”, double-check your content is suitable for the Web:
 Have you addressed your audience directly, using the tone and
language suitable for them?
 Have you answered the “who”, “what”, “why” and “how”?
 Have you written a headline and opening paragraph that clearly
identifies what’s on the page?
 Is your most important information “above the fold”?
 Is your content easy to scan, including subheads and short
sentences and paragraphs?
 Have you focused on your readers, with more “you” and “your”
and less “we” and “our”?
 Have you used the active voice to engage your readers?
 Have you used clear concise language containing no jargon?
 Have you included your main keywords?

 Have you added keyword-rich links to relevant information?

 Have you used lists where relevant to help readers scan important
information quickly?
 Do you need a call-to-action?
 Could you cut your word count by at least 10%?
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Resources
Websites





Elements of Style (online version): www.bartleby.com/141
Copyblogger: www.copyblogger.com
SEOmoz: www.seomoz.org
useit.com: www.useit.com/papers/webwriting
BBC Style Guide: www.bbctraining.com/pdfs/newsstyleguide.pdf
Plain English: www.gcal.ac.uk/learnersupport/csd/plainenglish
Books
General writing:



On Writing Well, William Zinsser
On Writing, Stephen King
Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr.
Web writing:


Net Words, Nick Usborne
Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug
Keyword research tools

http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
Get ideas for new keywords.

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Get ideas for new keywords.

www.google.com/trends
Compare keywords and find the most popular ones.

www.seomoz.org/term-extractor
Analyse your existing pages, and your competitors’, to find popular keywords.

www.marketleap.com/verify/default.htm
See where your pages rank in the search engines for your main keywords.

www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php
Get a visual representation of the most common keywords on your or your
competitors’ pages.
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Style guide
Abbreviations
Don’t use full stops in abbreviations, eg BBC, GCU, EU, eg, 9am, Dr Smith, Mr Jones.
Spell out unfamiliar abbreviations in the first instance and include the abbreviation in
brackets, eg Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU). Thereafter, use the abbreviation on the
same page. Remember that people don’t read web pages in a linear fashion, and people
could land on any page, so you should spell out the first instance of unfamiliar abbreviations
on every page where relevant.
Don’t use abbreviations for short words, eg use Professor not Prof. and December not Dec.
(although do use Dr not Doctor – no full stop).
Academic schools and departments
First letters should always be upper case and do not use ampersands eg:
School of the Built and Natural Environment
Caledonian Business School
School of Engineering and Computing
School of Health and Social Care
School of Life Sciences
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Vision Sciences
School of Law and Social Sciences
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health
Use lower case when referring to “the school” and “the department” within a sentence. Only
capitalise the first letter of “the” if it comes at the start of a sentence.
Academic qualifications
Don’t use full stops, eg BA, MA, MSc, PhD.
Ampersands
Don’t use ampersands within body copy, school names and headlines, eg School of Built
and Natural Environment and Schools and Colleges Liaison Team. You can use them in
navigation links and page titles if space is tight, eg “Parents & Family”.
Apostrophes
Use the 1960s or the ‘60s, not the 1960’s or the ‘60’s
For names ending in “es”, leave out the additional “s”, eg Mrs Jones’ holiday not Mrs Jones’s
holiday.
Buildings
Official names of GCU buildings:
Britannia Building
William Harley Building
CPD Centre
Arc
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Students' Association
Govan Mbeki Health Building
George Moore Building
Hamish Wood Building
Buchanan House
Occupational Health Unit
Saltire Centre
Charles Oakley Laboratories
Nursery
Teaching Block
Milton Street Building
Caledonian Court
Students’ Union
Only capitalise the first letter of “the”, eg “the Saltire Centre”, if it comes at the start of a
sentence.
Bold
Use sparingly for emphasis within text or for sub headings. Do not overuse.
Bullet points
Use bulleted lists to break up longer copy and make it easy for readers to scan the main
points. Keep the sentences in each bullet point short and ideally no more than three lines in
total for each bullet point.
Capitalise the first letter of the first word of each bullet point, even in short bullet points. Only
include a full stop at the end if a bullet point includes more than one sentence or a whole
paragraph. If each bullet point takes up one line, do not include a line space between each
point. If the bullet points run to more than one line, include a line space between each.
If a list of bullet points runs on from a sentence, you don’t need a colon before starting the
list and you should use lower case throughout, eg



bullet point one
bullet point two
bullet point three
If your list included standalone points, use a colon to introduce it, eg Here are three bullet
points:



Bullet point one
Bullet point two
Bullet point three
Use standard bullet points rather than dashes or symbols.
Capitals
Don’t capitalise whole words for emphasis within text. Also see Headlines.
Contractions
Use “you’ll’, “we’ll”, “don’t”, etc to establish a more friendly and informal tone, eg for a
student audience and in website content.
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Course titles
A Level (no hyphen)
GCSE
BA(Honours) or BA(Hons) – no space after BA
Higher Grade or Highers
PgCert
BEng(Honours) or BEng(Hons)
PgDip
BSc(Honours) or BSc(Hons)
Masters or MA
MPhil
PhD
Dates and times
No punctuation, eg Monday April 2nd 2008 or April 2nd 2008.
Use 9am (no space before “am” and no full stops).
Dashes
Use dashes as an alternative to two commas, eg “Glasgow Caledonian University, a
university in the centre of Glasgow, is one of the country’s largest educational institutions”
could also be written as “Glasgow Caledonian University – a university in the centre of
Glasgow – is one of the country’s largest educational institutions”.
eg
No full stops.
Email
Use email not e-mail.
However, use e-commerce, e-learning and e-newsletter.
Fractions
Write out and hyphenate fractions within text, eg “Two-thirds of students live at home”.
Full time/Full-time
“Students can take a full-time course.”
“Students can study full time.”
Glasgow Caledonian University
Acceptable alternatives are GCU, Glasgow Caledonian and “the university” (lower case) to
save space and avoid repetition.
Don’t shorten to “Caley” or “Glasgow Caley”.
Headlines
Only capitalise the first letter of the first word.
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Hyphens
Use a hyphen to join together two words to form an adjective, eg “part-time study” and
“work-based learning”. Don’t use hyphens with adverbs, eg “the course is fully booked” not
“the course is fully-booked” and “this method is widely used” not “the method is widely-used”.
Internet
Lower case unless it starts a sentence, eg “the internet is huge.”
-ise or -ize
Use -ise not -ize in words such as organise, recognise and specialise, no matter what your
MS Word spell checker may tell you!
Job titles
Use upper case when talking about a specific person and their job title, eg “John Smith,
Marketing Manager” and lower case when talking in general terms, eg “the company
appointed a marketing manager” or “John Smith has worked as a marketing manager for
many years”.
Numbers
Use words for one to nine and numerals thereafter. If a number occurs at the start of a
sentence, spell it out.
Use “the 19th century” but “nineteenth-century book”.
Use 2,000 not 2000.
Online
Use online not on-line.
Part time/part-time
You take a part-time course but you study part time.
Per cent / %
Use %, unless the number has been written in full, eg two per cent.
Postgraduate
Use lower case “postgraduate” unless it’s part of an official course title.
Programme/Program
Programme refers to courses and TV/radio shows, eg “our journalism programmes”.
Program refers to software, eg “the program on my PC”.
Ranges
Use “students aged 17–21” or “students aged from 17 to 21 not “students aged from 17–21”.
Quotes
Use full quotation marks, except for speech or quotes within a quote, when you should use
single quotes (inverted commas), eg “The awards body praised elements of the course as
‘highly innovative’,” said the Head of Communications.
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Guide to Writing for the Web
When breaking up one long quote over two paragraphs, do not close the quotation marks at
the end of the first paragraph. Instead open them on the following paragraph and close them
at the very end of the quote, eg
“The course is great,” said Mr Bloggs.”It includes lots of interesting modules and practical
placements.
“I would recommend it to any student.”
Singular nouns
Refer to an organisation or institution as “it” not “they”. Eg “The City Council is aware... “ not
“The City Council are aware...”
Student
Use lower case “s”.
Undergraduate
Use lower case “undergraduate” unless it’s part of an official course title.
Underlining
Underline links in web pages, and try not to use in headlines or for emphasis.
Web addresses
Don’t include http:// for URLs that include www, eg www.gcal.ac.uk
Web, website
Use upper case when talking about “the Web”, but use lower case when talking about “web
pages” and “web design”.
Use “website” not “web site”.
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