WRITING FOR THE WEB
How do you write copy for the web when
people hate reading online? How do you
keep them engaged while sometimes
having to communicate quite dull
information? In this session you will learn
about the unique challenges of writing
online copy and we will discuss what tone
of voice Strathclyde should be adopting.
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THE MEDIUM OF THE WEB
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50 MILLISECONDS
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SO MANY WEBSITES,
SO LITTLE TIME.
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UNCOMFORTABLE
TO READ
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KEEP IT SHORT
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CAUSE
FEAR OF MISSING SOMETHING
FEAR OF NOT BEING UNDERSTOOD
A DESIRE TO CONVINCE
SOLUTION
SOME COPY SHOULDN’T BE ONLINE
REMOVE INSTRUCTIONAL TEXT
STOP SELLING
REMOVE, HIDE, SHRINK
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Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should
contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no
unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a
drawing have no unnecessary lines and a machine
no unnecessary parts.
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AID SCANNABILITY
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Headings
Lists
Bold/Italic
Breakouts
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KEEP IT SIMPLE
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WHY SHOULD I DUMB
IT DOWN?*
*THE ‘WE WANT INTELLIGENT STUDENTS ARGUMENT’
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ACADEMIC ARROGANCE
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THERE ARE DAMN
GOOD REASONS
ENGLISH NOT THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE.
PEOPLE WITH COGNITIVE DISABILITY.
SIMPLER TEXT CAN BE PROCESSED FASTER.
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A WORD ABOUT SEO
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AARRRRGGGG!
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ALL GOOGLE CARES
ABOUT IS
GOOD CONTENT
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USE THE SAME LANGUAGE
AS USERS
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DO NOT ASSUME
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE
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MICROCOPY
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EXERCISE 2
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http://goo.gl/9qpSH
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FURTHER READING
Don’t make me think by Steve Krug
Jakob Neilsen’s extensive research into writing for the web
Copyblogger - Copywriting tips for online marketing success
Make it clear - Guide to writing with accessibility in mind
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GRABBING USER
ATTENTION
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FRONT LOADING
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HOMEPAGE
SECTION
SUB SECTION
DETAILS
LEVEL OF SPECIFICITY
WEBSITE
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HEADLINES
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CASE STUDY
FOTOFAKR.COM
STARTUP WEBAPP THAT APPLIES FILTERS OVER
PHOTOS TO MAKE PEOPLE LOOK MORE ATTRACTIVE
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BE DIRECT
“FOTOFAKR FOTOBOOKS - 20% OFF”
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TIME SPECIFIC
“20% OFF FOTOFAKR FOTOBOOKS - THIS WEEK ONLY”
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BE INDIRECT
“SAVE MONEY WHILE SAVING FACE”
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THIS IS THE NEWS!
“FOTOFAKR LAUNCHES TO WIDE DERISION BY
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE”
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HOW TO
“HOW TO MAKE EVERY FRECKLE FADE”
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QUESTION?
“DO THE WORDS ‘PLEASE INCLUDE A PHOTO’
FILL YOU WITH DREAD?”
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COMMANDS
“PUT THE SEX BACK INTO SEXUAL HARRASSMENT
- FOTOFAKR.COM YOUR SECRETARY TODAY”
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LINKBAIT
“10 WAYS TO CREATE A MAN-CATCHING PHOTO”
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LINKS
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AS WITH HEADLINES
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OUT OF CONTEXT
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NEED TO OBVIOUSLY
RELATE TO PAGE
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LINK COPY DOES NOT
HAVE TO BE SHORT
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EXERCISE 3
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http://goo.gl/9qpSH
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PAGE TEMPLATES
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PROVIDES FOCUS
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ASKS QUESTIONS
WHAT IS THE TOPIC?
WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE PAGE?
WHAT MUST THE USER COME AWAY WITH, EVEN IF
THEY ONLY GLANCE AT THE PAGE?
HOW WILL PEOPLE GET TO THIS PAGE?
WHAT DO WE WANT THEM TO DO NEXT?
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EXERCISE 4
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strath.ac.uk/research/
WHAT IS THE TOPIC?
WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE PAGE?
WHAT MUST THE USER LEAVE WITH?
HOW WILL PEOPLE GET HERE?
WHAT SHOULD THEY DO NEXT?