Microcontent is small-scale content. It usually acts as a label for content that isn’t yet visible on the screen. So it needs to work hard to communicate and connect with users. Most web writers produce the following kinds of microcontent: Page titles (labels for pages linked in search results, shared on social media networks, listed [...]
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Accessibility evaluation for web writers
Web writers should know how to check if their content is accessible, especially if they’re editing or updating content they didn’t create. It’s not a difficult skill to learn, and a few simple tools will help. In this article, I discuss evaluating content against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.
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Text alternatives for images with captions
Web writers must provide a text alternative for informative or functional images they use in their content. But what should you do when the image also needs a caption? Three methods are commonly used, but none is ideal. In this article I’ll explain why and suggest an alternative.
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A-Z of better web writing
If you want to write better web content, here’s an A-Z that should help. It covers attributes of quality content and issues you should be aware of as a web writer.
3 idioms reveal the truth about university websites
I’ve worked on Australian university websites for the past 18 years, in a range of internal technical, design and content-related roles, and as an external consultant. I’ve met some great people and seen the potential to do great work. But I’ve also seen some problems again and again. They are aptly explained using three simple idioms.
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Print to web: 10 tips for repurposing documents
The content strategy world is abuzz with talk of adaptive content—content that is chunked and structured for use across a range of devices. However many organisations, particularly large government departments, are still firmly stuck in the world of print. They create brochures, fact sheets, reports and so on, and then republish these online as documents. Often, this content gets no more attention than the time it takes to upload as PDF files to the web. If your organisation still takes a print-first approach to content, here are some tips to help you repurpose it for the web.
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Don’t let your CMS wreck your content, part 2
A CMS can create problems for your content if you let it generate file names or text alternatives for images. This article discusses system behaviour to watch out for.
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Don’t let your CMS wreck your content, part 1
Content management systems aim to make publishing and managing web content easier. But some systems have limiting features, or are set up in ways that don’t help your search engine rankings or your users. In this article, we look at how content management systems create the page title. It’s best if your system generates an interim title and then lets you edit it.
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Writing for the web versus writing for print
I’m often asked about the differences between writing for the web and writing for print. Writers are aware that they need to take a different approach, and most understand they’re writing for an audience that may be scan-reading and task-focused. They know they need to be more concise, and take care with content layout. But they have a sense that there’s more they need to know.
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7 Cs of quality web content
If you want to write better content for your website, intranet or blog, aim for these 7 qualities. They’re based on the classic ’7 Cs of communication’, reworked for communicating online.
Consistent identification: accessibility for web writers, part 17
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 requires consistent labelling of the functional parts of web pages. If identical functions have different labels on different pages,you may make your site confusing or harder for people to learn to use—particularly people with cognitive impairments. Here are some of the issues web writers need to be aware of.
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Pronunciation: accessibility for web writers, part 16
In some languages, words or characters may have different meanings depending on their pronunciation. In English, heteronyms are an example. For instance, ‘content’ could be a reference to the way someone is feeling, or to the words on this page. Context usually helps In most situations, the meaning of heteronyms will become clear once we [...]
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Reading level: accessibility for web writers, part 15
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 suggest we write content that requires reading skills no more advanced than lower secondary education level (7 to 9 years of education). This article discussed measuring reading level and writing content that is easier to read.
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