Writing paragraphs

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of content. Paragraphs in web content require a slightly different approach to paragraphs for print content. These tips will help you create paragraphs that work well online.

Tips for web writers

  • Chunk your content into paragraphs
  • Focus on one topic in each paragraph
    • Always start a new paragraph if you move on to a new topic
    • Don’t break a single idea across multiple one-sentence paragraphs
  • Start with the topic sentence — the main idea or issue the paragraph will cover
  • Second and further sentences should develop, explain or support the topic
  • Order sentences within the paragraph so that users get the information they are most interested in first
  • Keep paragraphs short
    • Avoid going over 50 words
    • Long paragraphs can turn into ‘walls of text’ and put users off reading
    • One-sentence paragraphs are fine if the idea only needs to be stated and not developed
  • Vary paragraph length. Don’t write a string of one-sentence paragraphs
  • Avoid embedding too many links within a paragraph
    • Text cluttered with links can be harder to read
    • Links can be harder to scan through when they are scattered through text
    • Consider moving links to a list below the relevant paragraph or to the end of the page
  • Group related paragraphs together
  • Order paragraphs so that users get the information they are most interested in first
  • Once you’ve finished a draft, go back and see if you really need your first paragraph. If not, delete it

Print version

Version 1.0, October 2011