Website Usability Guidelines

Writing Content Copy (1 of 3)

Follow these usability recommendations:

Skilled Editor is Essential - A skilled editor is an essential part of effective content creation. The editor should not only set style standards but must also ensure that the site follows them consistently. The editor should develop or revise content specifically for your specific web use.

Be Succinct - Write no more than 50% of the text you would have used to cover the same material in a print publication. Website users read 25% slower on the web than they do reading print publications.

Write for Scannability - Don't require users to read long continuous blocks of text; instead, use short paragraphs, subheadings, and bulleted lists.

Use Hypertext - Use hypertext to split up long information into multiple pages. Always provide a way back to the original web page.

Text Word Count - People don't read they scan the copy on most internet commercial pages. Here are some rules to improve your online writing:

• Keep heading to less than eight (8) words.
• Keep sentences to less than eighteen (18) words.
• Keep opening and closing sentences to less than twelve (12) words.
• Keep total text word count per page to two hundred (200) words to four hundred (400) words.

Writing Headlines - Headlines tell visitors the benefits you deliver. It's up to you to convey why It's important. You have about 10 seconds to convince the website visitor to stay on your website. A headline is your first contact, make it count! Some tips:

• Read your headline out loud. If it sounds weird out loud, it will sound that way in reader's minds. Remember, they're reading this for the first time. Anything that makes them stop, think, or worse, confused, hurts your efforts.
• Don't hype your language with sensational headlines. People have been battered to death by bad writing. Get to the point. Keep it simple.
• Examine your subject. After writing a headline, ask yourself, Why is that important? When the answer is self-evident, you're finished.
• Write in one or two syllable words whenever possible. The simpler, the better. People need to move through your writing and remain engaged. don't permit confusion.

One Topic Per Paragraph - When users scan text they will only read the first sentence of each paragraph. This suggest the importance of the first sentence and one topic per paragraph. If you use multiple topics per paragraph the user will miss your second topic.