Contents

University Web Services

Best Practices

Writing Content

Writing for the web is different. Web content should have 50% of the word count of its paper counterpart. Writing should make use of chunking, lists, headings, and white space. Writing should be concise and clear. Visitors don't read; they scan.

Standard Writing Advice Applies on the Web Too

Use the active voice

Use strong verbs

If a page needs to be long, consider adding a summary at the top.

Spellcheck.

Be succinct.

Know your target audience, but also remember that your audience will always be wider than your target.

Proofread. Get someone else to read the page (all your pages!) or else read out loud yourself.

Keep sentences short. This is another version of keeping it succinct.

Don't just take a print document and "put it on the web"

Stay focused. Each page should have a single point or purpose. Anything that doesn't contribute directly to the point, cut it! Either the reader doesn't need it at all, or else needs it on a different page.

If you are writing long content, outline it first. "Long" in this context means more than a couple hundred words, which is less than one printed page.

Never say "click here". Seriously.

Put the most important information at the top of the page.

Avoid PDF whenever you can. PDF files are clumsy to scroll through. They're rarely hyperlinked to related content. The font scaling is never right the first time. It's all too easy to close the browser when you only meant to close the PDF window. But most of all, it means you haven't re-read the content and edited specifically for the Web.

Write well. There's no substitute for clarity.

Chunk

Break up long text by using markup.

Standard Types of Content

Academic departments should have links to Programs and Majors, Students, Advising information, Student organizations or clubs, and Publications. Contact information, including physical location, mail, email, telephone, and perhaps a map.

Where the unit name is used, use it in full at least once on the page. Not everyone comes to your site by way of the home page and you cannot assume they will know the meaning of the abbreviated form of the department name.

All units should have a feedback form

All units should have information on employees, to include name, email, phone, office.

Administrative departments should have links to Services, Mission and/or Vision Statement, Organization chart, Contact information including physical location, mail, email, telephone, and a map to the office(s).

Faculty pages should be one page for each full-time faculty member that follows the departmental template and contains consistent information. On that page can be a link to the faculty member's personal web site.

All pages must have technical contact information. This may need to be separate from contact information for the content owner. The tech contact is for people who have a complaint or comment about the web page itself.

All phone numbers must include area code information. After all, this is the world wide webm and not everyone will know the area code.

Addresses should include the mail stop, so if someone mails to the department, our Mail Services people can route it in the most efficient manner.

We recommend the following content elements on a faculty page:

  • Name, phone, email, office, and current office hours
  • Photo (taken by campus photographer, not done by an amateur)
  • List of classes taught
  • Research specialties