Writing for the Web

Determine What You Want to Accomplish

Before you start writing, make sure you have a clear understanding of the purpose and goals for your pages.

Do you want:

• A site that makes prospective students want to stick around and find out what your program/degrees/school is all about?
• To communicate that Liberty is a thriving school with an engaging mission?
• To be enticing to prospective students?
• Web pages that are current and effective?

These are all great goals, and you can help accomplish them by writing compelling content that follows an inviting web style.

Identify Your Audience

Honing in on your target audience will help give you the strategic direction you need for effective content. Find out who they are and then write for them.

Remember this about your readers:

• They are real people
• Some understand “scholarly lingo”, but some do not
• They found you online, so stay true to a web-friendly writing style
• Talk to them – not about them
• Tell them what they can do – not what students can do

Be it in print or on the web, your audience doesn’t get the same context clues. Which is why these communication rules will always be important:

1. Know your audience. What do they know? Are they beginners or experts? What will they learn from you?
2. Answer your audience’s questions. What do they want to know? Give them the information they came for.
3. Let them know what to do next. Do you want them to call you, sign up for an event, or submit an application? Make it easy by pointing them to the next action.

Stay User-Focused

Speak to your user. Use words like “you” instead of “the student.” Tell your user what actions they can take rather than explaining what you have to offer them. While keeping your content user-focused, make sure you use Liberty’s voice & tone guidelines. Keep your tone consistent.

Create Engaging Web Content

• Use shorter sentences.
• Bring active verbs forward like: “gain, join, discover, find out, get, etc.”
• Highlight benefits over features
• Stay conversational. Speak like your readers are right in front of you.
• Sprinkle in some contractions. Stray a bit from formal grammar, so your content doesn’t appear stuffy.
• Have a clear “call to action” so your users know what to do next. Sometimes the call to action can be as simple as having an email available for questions from users. At other times, it may take the form of a button on the page to RSVP for an event.

Avoid Walls Of Text

Large blocks of text are not inviting to read. It’s too daunting and lacks that “information scent” which lets users know they’re on the right track. Text-heavy pages can be reworked so they are easier to scan and more user-friendly by:

• Putting lists in bullets instead of paragraphs: Bullets are great for quick scanning and identifying lists!
• Using headers strategically: Headers break up paragraphs and allow users to identify what section they want to read for more information.
• Adding links with descriptive link text: Linking is crucial on the web. Whenever appropriate, add a link to point your users to more information on a particular topic that you are referring to.
• Cutting the unnecessary parts and getting rid of ROT: If there are words and ideas in the text that don’t help the user better understand the topic at hand.

The actions above can make your page more inviting by breaking up the text into manageable chunks. It allows users to quickly find and focus on the areas they’re most interested in.

Reduce Text by 75%

A good rule of thumb is to cut your original text in half and then in half again, leaving about 25% of your text. We know that web users will ignore large blocks of text because they are not easy to scan for information.

Use Plain Language

The secret to engaging our audience on the web lies in keeping our text simple and relational.

In a Q&A over on the Acrolinx blog, Deborah Bosley from The Plain Language Group suggests that when you’re describing something to your target audience, you should write it the same way you would imagine them describing it to their friends. “That often means not talking to them like they’re subject matter experts,” she says, “but rather using language that’s plain, direct, and succinct.”

With a higher-ed website, it’s easy to slip into a pattern of using sophisticated, academic writing for the web. However, research continues to support the premise that even educated experts prefer plain language on the web. Here’s a great video from the Nielsen Norman Group that demonstrates how plain language is for everyone.

Know the Reading Level

Because of a multitude of factors like disabilities, device limitations, and the fast pace of our culture, it is recommended that webpage content be written at an 8th-grade reading level. With that in mind, you know you’ve lost a good portion of your readers when your web copy tests in at a much higher level.

• Measure your page readability

If you’re looking over your pages now and seeing some room for improvement, you’re not alone. Huge companies and even government sites are seeing the value of plain language and are making the switch. And Google is even rewarding sites with better ranking when page text is written plainly and clearly.

As an accredited university, our students need to be able to read and write on a more complex level. So, why bother writing at a lower reading level? Because you are not writing for college graduates who are focused on your every word. You’re writing to:

• High school students (7th-8th-grade reading level)
• Parents and grandparents of high school students (who might have an even lower literacy level)
• Non-native English speakers (who typically have a lower than average reading level)
• A distracted audience (distractions lower comprehension)

That last one is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind. Regardless of literacy level or age, people on our websites are often distracted. They don’t sit down to read web content the way they read a novel. They are multi-tasking, and they have other things on their minds. They are not hanging on your every word. If your writing is too complex, they will miss important information. That’s why we recommend using lists and subheadings to make your text easier to scan.

Use Readability Tools

Two tools can help you bring your writing down to an easier reading level. The Flesch Reading Ease score and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level are both built right into Microsoft Word. To turn them on, go to Preferences > Spelling & Grammar, then check “Show readability statistics.” To run the check, go to Tools > Spelling & Grammar.

A free online tool, The Hemmingway App is another way to check your writing for readability. It gives you a grade level score and tells you which sentences are difficult to read.

If you want to read more about award-winning books that were written at a lower-than-average grade level, check out this article at Contently.com. It’s a lengthy read, but well worth it.

Utilize Keywords

Use keywords or phrases in important locations like:

• Page title
• Headings
• Body copy
• File names of images and PDFs
• Alt text in image properties

To learn more about keyword placement, read our guide on SEO Basics.

Use Descriptive Link text

Links are a great way to connect your users to the information they are looking for. When using links, remember that users scan webpages. When that blue, underlined link text catches their eye what will they find? The last thing they’ll want is a mystery link.

When you encounter a “click here” link, you can’t be sure where it will land. “Click here” has what’s called a low information scent, and it’s useless for scanners and visitors with visual impairments who rely on screen readers.

Instead, use descriptive link text that indicates what the link is for.

This Nielsen Norman Group article offers “Learn More” alternatives in case you need some help coming up with better link text.

“Helpful links” is the least helpful title for a group of links. All of your links should be helpful. Isn’t that why you have them? Instead, think about what really ties your links together and label them accordingly. You may discover that they don’t belong together at all. If that’s the case, try rearranging all your links into more meaningful categories or labeling them by audience.

Sometimes these phrases are difficult to work around. If you’re struggling, contact the Web Content team, and we’ll help you figure out solutions that better serve your content and your audience.

Rework Your Content

All of us need help to update our text so that it matches the Liberty Voice and Tone Guidelines and current web style. Here are some good examples taken from various academic websites of “before” and “after” copy:

Don’t say this:

It is critical that future leaders are able to research effectively, analyze with precision, write clearly, and speak persuasively. The development of proficient communication skills is the focus at our school.

Say this:

At our school, you’ll develop solid communication skills that will benefit your future career.

Learn how to:

• Research effectively
• Analyze with precision
• Write clearly
• Speak persuasively

(Staying “you-focused,” this rework speaks directly to the reader, showing how they can benefit. It also separates the long list with bullets, making the page scannable.)

Don’t say this:

Our Department of Computer Engineering provides a rigorous, high-quality education that prepares students for the engineering and computing industry. Computer engineering programs are not easy, but the rewards can be outstanding.

Say this:

Confidently pursue a career in the engineering and computing industry. A degree from our Department of Computer Engineering will give you a rigorous, high-quality education that’s both challenging and rewarding.

(Here, we begin with a short sentence that has a personal call to action. We end by telling the reader what they will gain through a degree from the program.)

Don’t say this:

The master’s degree in law is a challenging program that grounds students in the primary legal contexts so they can better understand the laws that affect their chosen career.

Say this:

Get grounded in the foundational legal contexts with a Master of Arts in Law from our school. Increase your understanding of the law and how it can affect careers outside of the legal profession.

(Starting with an action verb that addresses the reader, this rework sticks to a web-friendly writing style that highlights the degree’s benefits.)