Web Team

Web Team

Guidelines for editing and writing web content

Learn how to make your web pages easier to read, user friendly and easier for search engines to find.

Think about

  • Who is your audience? (e.g. students, prospective students, staff etc)
  • What do they want from this page?
  • What is the purpose of the page?
  • What words would your target audience use?

Text should be

  • Written for the reader, not the writer
  • In Plain English
  • Concise
  • Easy to scan

Use Plain English

  • Simple, familiar words
  • Short sentences (maximum 20 words)
  • Short paragraphs (ideally no more than 65 words)
  • 'you' and 'we'
  • Use the active voice (reduce passive verbs)
  • Use positive language
  • Structure content for your intended reader
  • Use University Editorial Style Guide (staff only)

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Create white space around your text

  • Plenty of headlines
  • Short sentences
  • Short paragraphs (occasionally just one line)
  • Short lists or bullet points

Say it concisely

  • Don’t waste words but be generous with information
  • Aim to reduce text by 50%.
  • If a page needs to be long, make sure it is concise
  • Reduce background,’ history’ and hype. People want information or action on every page

Front load information

People are scanning and searching for information. Put your main point first.

  • At the top of the page
  • In sentences
  • In each paragraph or block of writing

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Create content that can be easily scanned

  • Relevant, consistent and meaningful headings with a logical hierarchy
  • Content is well organised and easily to navigate
  • Use easy-to-read text styles (text is left aligned, no italics or solid capitals)
  • Put key ideas at the top of the page and at the start of each paragraph
  • The first three or four words in a paragraph should be the most important
  • Use short lists or bullet points
  • Make sure images have captions

Communicate within a few seconds

  • Specific, explanatory headings (think of them as headlines)
  • 4 – 10 word headline specific to the content below
  • Write small blocks and use bullet points well
  • Meaningful image captions and alt-text

Training and resources