Writing well for the web | Contensis user groups 2016

Here, digital marketer Ryan Bromley gives a taster of our full-day writing for the web workshop. We discuss creating user-friendly content, provide some easy-to-remember tips, and share some practical exercises that reinforce what we’ve learned.

Transcript

2. Wri$ng well for the web
3. 9 Average reading age The average reading age of the UK popula4on is just 9 years. This is around the same reading age as the Sun. 5.2M Func$onally illiterate adults 5.2M adults in the UK are classed as “func4onally illiterate”. These readers wouldn’t pass an English GCSE. 15,000 Words in the average vocabulary By the 4me a person is 9, they typically use around 5,000 words in their speech and around 10,000 in their wri4ng. Reading levels in the UK H O W P E O P L E O F D I F F E R E N T A B I L I T I E S R E A D
4. The way people read online When we read online we tend to skim read – scanning the page for the informa4on that we’re looking for. We read the opening paragraph of a page and make a decision on whether it’s worth reading the whole page. Cogni4ve load can effect how we read. This can increase when we are stressed or otherwise distracted. 28% 80% The amount of text people actually read on a web page. The amount of $me people spend reading informa$on above the fold.
5. Crea4ng content is best done in three stages. In the planning stage you iden4fy what your users need know and the words they use to describe it. In the wri4ng stage you address the user needs you have iden4fied in language that’s simple, straighRorward, and familiar. In the produc4on stage you make your content available to as wide an audience as possible. The wri$ng process Planning Wri$ng Produc$on T H E T H R E E S TA G E S O F C R E AT I N G C O N T E N T F O R T H E W E B
6. There are several things to bear in mind when planning content. The first is to make sure you’re serving a genuine user need. It’s also important to use the same language as your users so that they can find your content. Finally, you need to set acceptance criteria to assess whether your content includes all of the informa4on your users require. Part 1: Planning
7. Is this mee$ng a user need? Your visitors come to your website to complete a task. You need to have this task in mind when wri4ng. Empathise with your users and always remember what they are trying to achieve. Focusing on your users’ top tasks will help you to avoid crea4ng content that serves the needs of your organisa4on rather than the needs of your users. Why should your users care about this content?
8. “O#en, the more important the task is to the customer, the less content is being produced for it; the less important the task is to the customer, the more content is being produced. This inverse rela=onship is very typical.” Gerry McGovern
9. What ques$ons are people asking? To write useful and effec4ve content we need to know what ques4ons our visitors are asking and what their priori4es are. By answering these ques4ons our content will be more successful – whether that means bringing more people to our website, stopping users from turning to more expensive channels, or genera4ng more conversions.
10. Searching forums or ques4on-and-answer sites can help to uncover unanswered ques4ons, to confirm your assump4ons, and to find out what terminology your target audience is using. The answers that other users have given can also be a useful source of informa4on. Forums A U S E F U L D E S K R E S E A R C H T O O L
11. What words do our visitors use? Using the same language as your visitors helps them to find the informa4on that they’re looking for on your site. If you’re using technical language or terminology they might never find your content – let alone understand it. Using the same language as your audience will also help people to find your content in search engines.
12. Google Trends is a useful tool to check the search volume of different keywords and topics. You can enter a keyword and see whether interest in that subject is increasing or decreasing. Some4mes interest in a subject isn’t actually declining – people are just using different terminology. You can check the related search terms in Google Trends to uncover search terms that your audience might be using. Google Trends U N C O V E R S E A R C H T R E N D S
14. How can we measure quality? Before we can decide whether our content works, we need to set a defini4on of success. The best way to do this is define specific user requirements before we start wri4ng. This way, we can compare our finished piece to these requirements and check that we’ve addressed them.
15. “When I’m looking to change my lifestyle, I want to know which foods are healthiest, so I can make informed choices about my diet.”
16. “When I’m looking to change my lifestyle, I want to know which foods are healthiest, so I can make informed choices about my diet.”
17. Write down five job stories describing what you think are your visitors’ top tasks.
18. We’ve established what ques4ons we’re seYng out to answer, how our users talk about the subject maZer at hand, and how we’re gauging success. Now it’s 4me to start wri4ng. Because of the way people read online, it’s important to make content as easy to read as possible. Part 2: Wri$ng
19. Is this easy to read? When wri4ng for the web it’s important that we make our content as easy to read as possible. We can do this by using simple language, wri4ng in short sentences, using the ac4ve voice, and structuring our wri4ng in a way that makes it easy for readers to quickly get the informa4on they need.
20. Sentences wriZen in the ac4ve voice have the subject perform the verb’s ac4on. They tend to be clearer and more concise than sentences wriZen in the passive voice. The passive voice has also tradi4onally been used to avoid assigning responsibility. As a result it can o]en seem evasive. Use the ac$ve voice The passive voice can be spo[ed… In a sentence wriZen in the ac4ve voice, the subject of the sentence performs the ac4on. In a sentence wriZen in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon by something else. …by zombies If you’re struggling to tell which voice a sentence is wriZen in, try adding ‘by zombies’ a]er the verb. If it makes sense when you add ‘by zombies’, then it’s wriZen in the passive voice and needs to be rewriZen. The ac$ve voice is bolder and easier to read The ac4ve voice o]en seems too blunt. In fact, sentences wriZen in the ac4ve voice are clearer and far easier to read than sentences wriZen in the passive voice.
21. “A refund will be sent.”
22. “You will be sent a refund.”
23. “We will send you a refund.”
24. • The tests are under review by the commiZee. • The pedestrian was struck by a moving vehicle. • The so]ware was installed by a contractor. • The computer was purchased and setup by the in-house IT department. • A profitable second quarter is expected by the en4re management team. • Many people from this town are employed by the company.
25. Even highly literate people prefer clear language. Because people skim through text online, rather than reading every word, it’s important to make your copy as easy to read as possible. Replacing difficult or unfamiliar words with more common ones will lower the reading age of your content. Use simple language Replace difficult words The Government Digital Service has found that when you use a longer word (8 or 9 leZers), users are more likely to skip shorter words (3, 4 or 5 leZers) that follow it. Make use of tools Use tools like the Hemingway app or the readability checker in Microso] Word to check your copy. Over 4me you’ll become more aware of how you’re wri4ng. Use the most common words Using common words can make your wri4ng easier to read quickly. Limit yourself to the 1000 most common words where you can. Try using the Up-Goer Five text editor to highlight uncommon words.
26. Keep sentences to around 14 words When the average sentence length rose to 14 words, par4cipants could s4ll understand 90% of the text. Start a new sentence Semicolons lead to complicated sentences. When you feel you need to use a semicolon, start a new sentence instead. Shorter sentences are easier to read Par4cipants in a study could understand 100% of a given text when the average sentence was less than 8 words long.
27. People hate jargon. It’s o]en a top result in surveys of the things people dislike most about their workplace. Most people who use jargon don’t understand what it actually means, and there’s no reason your readers will either. Get rid of cliches and jargon Cliches and jargon make text hard to read Readers might be unfamiliar with a cliche or jargon word –especially if their first language isn't English. Use simple and direct language Think about what you really mean and say it in simple, direct, and clear language. 
 Cut all cliches and jargon They are irrita4ng and unimagina4ve. Cliches are 4red by defini4on – they are phrases that are overused and boring.
28. Is this structured logically? Because people read differently online – scanning pages rather than reading every word – the way you structure your page plays an important part in helping them to find the informa4on they need quickly and easily. Front-loading important informa4on, breaking up text with bullet lists, and using relevant headings all make your content quicker and easier to read.
29. We compensate for the way people skim web pages by puYng the most important informa4on in the first paragraph. This is called“front-loading”. It’s similar to the inverted pyramid model journalists use to write news ar4cles. Journalists always aim to answer the “Five Ws”: • Who? • What? • Where? • When? • Why? Front-loading U S I N G T H E I N V E R T E D P Y R A M I D $87,980 net monthly Most newsworthy informa4on Important details Background
30. Because of the way people read online – scanning the page rather than reading every word – how you structure your page can be the difference between them finding the informa4on they need or leaving your site in frustra4on. Structuring headings Give search engines a helping hand Search engines use headings to figure out what a page is about. Relevant, descrip4ve, and unique H1 headings that contain your keyword are important for search engine op4misa4on. Improve accessibility Properly nested headings are important naviga4onal tools for people using screen readers. Take advantage of the F pa[ern People scan web pages in an F paZern, rather than reading every line. Headings give structure to your page – helping people to find the informa4on they need.
31. White space is used by designers to make websites easier to read. People find it easier to read pages with plenty of white space than those crammed with text. Bullets break up text and make it easier for your visitors to navigate the page. • Don’t be afraid to use bullets – they’re not just for lists. • Keep the styling and punctua4on of bullets consistent. • Use nouns for lists of things and verbs for lists of ac4ons. • Begin complete sentences with a capital leZer and end them with a full stop. Using bullet lists B R E A K I N G U P T E X T W I T H B U L L E T S
32. One of the most important aspects of preparing content for the web is making sure it’s accessible to everyone. By making a few small changes to the way we work we can make our content available to a much wider audience. There are also legal issues to bear in mind when using images and video. Part 3: Produc$on
33. Is this accessible? Don’t view accessibility as a box-4cking exercise or as something you have to do. See it as an opportunity to make informa4on available to everyone. Before the internet it was hard for visually impaired people to do everyday things like read the news, or access public services. Now screen readers give people independence – but they only work if we build our sites properly.
34. It’s some4mes quicker to share a concept using an image or video. Videos and images should reinforce the text on the page – it’s important to never introduce ideas in visuals that aren’t explained in the text on the page. Ensure images are accessible using appropriate alt text. Using images M A K E S U R E I M A G E S A R E L E G A L A N D A C C E S S I B L E
35. Alt text allows people using screen readers to make sense of images on a web page. As a screen reader converts the text on a web page into speech it uses the alt text to describe any important images. It’s important to not only include alt text, but to use it properly and to make it as useful as possible. Using alt text Describe the informa$on, not the picture If an image contains informa4on then this needs to be made available in the alt text. Don’t explain what the image looks like, explain the informa4on that it contains. Decora$ve images should have empty alt text If an image doesn’t perform an ac4on or contain informa4on then it’s a decora4ve image. Decora4ve images should have empty alt text in the form of a null string, i.e. alt= “”. Every image must have an alt a[ribute While screen readers use alt text to make sense of images, it is also useful for people using a slow internet connec4on who might have images turned off in their browser.
36. Video can be a great communica4on tool. However, screen readers and search engines are unable to index or read audio and video. So, to make sure your content is reaching the largest possible audience it’s vital that you include transcripts, cap4ons, and audio descrip4on where appropriate. Using video I N C R E A S E Y O U R A U D I E N C E B Y I M P R O V I N G A C C E S S I B I L I T Y