Nonprofit 911:Writing for the Web: Today’s Best Practices

with Dalya Massachi

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Today’s Speaker: 

Dalya Massachi

Writing for the Web

Today’s Best Practices© 2012 Dalya Massachi

Writing for the Web

Today’s Best Practices© 2012 Dalya Massachi

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YOUR WEBSITE: A KEY PART OF YOUROUTREACH STRATEGY

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IMPROVED CONTENT= IMPROVED RESULTS

Better educate, support readersReach new, varied audiencesAccomplish your mission more

efficiently

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OUTLINE

I. What do we know about today’s web users?

II. Best practices to increase usability & accessibility

III. A bit of technical info

(All stats come from leading web usability expert, Jakob Nielsen.)

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WHO ARE YOUR READERS? Clients, Potential Clients Partners/Colleagues Researchers Funders/Donors PressActivists Casual web surfers

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ASK YOURSELF:

What info do they want from reading your website?

What problems can you help them solve?

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EXAMPLE: ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATORAs a middle-school science teacher, you’re always looking for fresh, up-to-date material on today’s pressing issues. With diminishing resources in our public schools, you may find it increasingly difficult to keep up with the times.

On the Eco-kids website, you will discover a wealth of up-to-date classroom resources that reflect changing frontiers in the environmental sciences. Get teaching materials that will inspire your students with over 50 lively discussion starters and activities!

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DATA YOU NEED TO GATHER Demographics

Geographic location

Limitations ($, education, tech)

Values, hopes, and fears

What they already know or believe

Info or tools they need to act11

HOW DO WE FIND OUT? Check web statistics

Take online surveys

Hold focus groups (in person/on social media)

Attend gatherings where they congregate

Review other online media they use

Ask others who also know about them

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TODAY’S WEB USERSIn general, they…

Have short attention spans Rely heavily on first impressions Need to know content is relevant first Read up to 25% slower than on paper Scan: Usually only the first 2 paragraphs,

headlines and/or the end Will spread your content if it’s good

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TODAY’S WEB USERS

They are looking for:

Benefits to their community: NOW Expert advice that’s easily accessible A “quick hit” on the new Inspiration & hope: we can do this! Reasons to trust you

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BEST PRACTICES TO

INCREASE USABILITY& ACCESSIBILITY

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DEFINE SITE/PAGE PURPOSES

Increase understanding of your issue Remind how you benefit the community Keep readers up-to-date, connected (repeat

visits? enews/blog connection?) Project professionalism; encourage trust Offer convenient way to donate/purchase Be a landing spot for links from elsewhere Coordinate with social media work Act as a pointer to other valuable related sites

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COMMON WEBSITE SECTIONS

Home: tagline; brief summary; what’s new; where to go from here

About Us: detailed person-to-person connection Our community: “about you”; who this site is for Our Programs: what we do, how we do it Why We Do It: community need/benefit, values Blog: stay updated and review comments FAQs Calendar of Events

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REMEMBER…Your web writing must be:

Timely and valuable enough to justify the time, mental engagement you take up

In the "need to know" category

Relevant NOW

Scannable and a quick read

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LEAD WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT INFO

Inverted pyramid format

Tell what the page is about and who

should read it (first 2-4 lines)

Summarize the main point:who, what, when, where, why (big benefits to gain, problems solved)

Start with an overview and link to details

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This heat map shows where users’ eyes traveled on a page. Red and yellow are where they spent the most time.

So you want to put your most critical info in the upper left-hand corner and at the left column

1st 2 words of a sentence or paragraph: most seen

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“CHUNK” YOUR INFO Use focused, easy-to-understand categories

Give a meaningful 1-line subhead to each major chunk: tell the story, as if they are the only things your reader sees

Got a list of 3 or more items? Number (sequenced) or bullet (random) it. Intro: sentence fragment or a sentence w/colon

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CULIVATE CONCISENESS:LESS IS MORE KISSS: Keep It Short, Simple &

Scannable Cut any text from paper Tell how to act right away — and why Sentences: 14-20 words max Every word should work Each item: 1-3 screens

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BUT… Complicated topics, background/tech info

often benefit from longer copy: readers need time to make an informed and confident decision

Keep to same page (don’t chop it up) b/c search engines like at least 250-300 words

Add summary or Table of Contents at the top

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ENGAGE BOTH THE HEART & THE HEAD

Even left-brained peopleneed an emotional understanding

Your reader remembers how you make her/him feel more than anything else

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TELL SUCCESS STORIES

Capture the essence of your work with short quotes from peoplesimilar to your target readersor people they care about

Talk about how people have benefited: results and importance

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Conversational/informal: o use the second person (“you”)o can include sentence fragmentso o.k. to begin with a conjunction (and, but, so)

Friendly, warm; contractions o.k.

Easy to understand (clear over clever)

LISTEN TO HOW YOU SOUND

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AVOID JARGON

Familiar words spring to mind when users search for you; include them!

If you must use technical terms or acronyms, explain them the first time

Avoid American slang

Would readers use the term themselves?

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TIE BACK TO YOUR MISSION AND VISION…REPEATEDLY

Always remember to summarize it:1 sentence or less

Evoke a vision of what things will be like when you fulfill your mission

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ISSUE CALLS TO ACTION

Repeat in at least 2-3 sections Include all the details they need Provide easy ways to interact with you Feature a special offer (preferably

w/deadline) Reminder of benefits they will enjoy by

acting now29

A BIT OF TECHNICAL INFO

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USE LINKS STRATEGICALLY

Use links in your sentences to:

Send the reader to important background or related material

Explain unusual or technical terms Emphasize important info (repeat in strategic

spots to follow reader’s train of thought)

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HOW TO PHRASE LINKS

First 11 characters: most important

Use plain, specific language

Follow conventions for naming common features

Front-load with action and keywords (first 2-3 words)

Don’t mislead or promise too much

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FOCUS ON YOUR HEADLINES

Use a few words to tell the gist of the story

Should include at least 3 keywords for SEO

Use present tense if possible

Often all people see on small screens or RSS feed: must be accurate out of context

Predictable before clicking

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MORE ON KEYWORDS

Need 2-3 “core” keywords and variations (-ing, -ed) for each page

Use them: 2-3 times on short pages; 4-6 times on longer ones

Call them out with bold, italics, links, etc.

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Use shorter blocks of text with just keywords

Most relevant, useful info at the top

Create narrow, bulleted lists

Eliminate unnecessary white space (it forces users to scroll)

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FOR MOBILE DEVICES

SENTENCE STRUCTURE Subject-verb-object 1-2 ideas per paragraph (1-4 sentences) Keep “if” before “then”

Click the “Edit” link if your address is incorrect.

If your address is incorrect, click the “Edit” link.

Use basic verb forms: infinitives, commands, simple tenses

Stay positive (avoid negatives when possible)36

COMPLEMENT WITH GRAPHICS

Not just filling space as an afterthought Use short, lively captions with keywords “Micro-copy”: summarize your story/

highlight your message Add clear alt-text descriptions to images ID people from L to R, double-check names Use active, present tense verbs Find action shots, not “posing”

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TRACK TRAFFICWebsite metrics tell you:

How many hits did we get? How many are unique visitors? How are people finding the website? What search terms are they finding us with? What websites link to us? What are the most popular pages on the site? Who is the average visitor tech-wise (platform/

browser/ screen resolution)?

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SUGGESTIONStep 1: Go to your website.Step 2: Find a colleague or two to play a

“new user.” You will take notes.READER: Narrate your train of thought. What do you like? What’s missing? What do you skip?

NOTETAKER: Resist the urge to explain.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact (at a special NFG discount!)

Many more on the special website

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