Tips for writing web content

Tips for writing web content:


Regarding Style:
be concise in your writing. Get to the point quickly.
choose words appropriate for your readers. Avoid using technical lingo, and if you do, add an explanation.
use short sentences (30 to 40 characters), 3 or 4 sentences per paragraph, adding a subheading announcing the topic or main point.
include the reader by using 'you' and 'we' when appropriate.
whenever possible summarize and link to full-length treatments as supporting documentation.


Regarding format:
underlining is for hyperlinks, so don't use that for emphasis.
don't use all caps, except for acronyms.
reserve bolding for headings and subheadings, for the most part.
use bullet points for lists. They are easy to read and add some white space to the page.
use centered text only for short headlines.
make headlines short.
justify left all of your text, except, perhaps, the headline of the page.
move detailed info to secondary pages.


Regarding structure:
use an explanatory headline at the top of each page so the reader knows where they are.
follow that with a summary of the topic they will be reading about on that page.
use frequent subheadings throughout the page to help the reader along and so the reader can immediately find the information they want to read.
if the page is long, put subheadings at the top of the page linking to the anchor points further down the page.
restrict each page to just one topic, briefly mentioning the topics to be found on other pages, and adding a link to those pages within the text itself.


Regarding content:
keep each page current, removing all redundant and outdated content.
rather than duplicate content within the website, link to it.
if content is of a timely nature, add a date.
if your content will remain on your site for some time, use dates rather than relative time, such as 'soon' or 'next year'.
refrain from mentioning a particular person's name and use their title to avoid outdated info.


Regarding images:
photos must be totally relevant to the text around them. As they are a barrier to reading use photos sparingly.
color photos get more attention than black and white photos.
a sequence of photos that tells a story gets more attention than a single photo.
photos of people or of action get more attention than photos of objects.
photos of close-ups of faces get the most attention.


Links
links within your own site should open in the same browser window.
if the link will take the reader to another site, tell them so, and have it open in a separate browser window.
use [brackets] after the link to explain where the reader is being taken, if not already self-explanatory within the text.