Writing Great Website Content

Bobbie Handcock, Web Content Specialist

Great Website Content

Worth a thousand words

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Great Website Content

• can help people feel welcome
• add interest to a page
• need to be high quality
• should reinforce the text

Photos

Great Website Content

Blog Post: I Love Hanging Around UA Little Rock

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Great Website Content

Our university photo archive can provide some great photos for your pages.

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Let our office know if you need access to PhotoShelter and we can help get you set up.

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Writing Great Website Content

1. Keep it short.

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Writing Great Website Content

Jakob Nielsen (web usability expert):

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Users have time to read 20-28% of the words on a webpage during an average visit.

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Writing Great Website Content

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Writing for the web is not like writing a report, a letter, or an essay.

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Web content must be concise and scannable.

Writing Great Website Content

Instead of:

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UA Little Rock is proud to have the unique opportunity to offer students the chance to work toward earning the only doctoral degree in criminal justice available in the state of Arkansas.

Writing Great Website Content

Say:

UA Little Rock is proud to offer the only Ph.D. in criminal justice in Arkansas.

Writing Great Website Content

2. Use descriptive headings.

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Writing Great Website Content

Break up text with descriptive headings so readers can easily find information they need.

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Writing Great Website Content

(Campus Living) What to Bring With You to College page

The Essentials

Suggested Items

What NOT to Bring

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Writing Great Website Content

3. Use bulleted lists.

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Writing Great Website Content

4. Add keywords.

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Writing Great Website Content

Include words commonly used to describe your topic – words that people are likely to search for or “Google.”

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Writing Great Website Content

Campus Life

Greek Life – fraternities and sororities

Student Government

Student Organizations

Campus Recreation

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Writing Great Website Content

• find answers
• get information
• solve problems

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Always keep in mind - quality content that helps people:

Writing Great Website Content

5. Use active voice.

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Writing Great Website Content

Instead of:

In-person or online learning is available to students.

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Say:

Students can learn in-person or online.

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Use active rather than passive voice.

Writing Great Website Content

• You can learn in-person or online.
• We offer you flexible learning options.
• Get to know us. Schedule your campus visit today.

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Even better – adopt a more reader-friendly tone and address your audience:

Writing Great Website Content

1. Keep it short.
2. Use descriptive headings.
3. Use bulleted lists.
4. Add keywords.

5. Use active voice.

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Writing Great Website Content

• find answers
• get information
• solve problems

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Create quality content that helps people:

Writing Great Website Content

Resources

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• Checklist for Plain Language on the Web: www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/checklists/web-checklist/

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• Writing for Web Accessibility: www.w3.org/WAI/tips/writing/

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Writing Great Website Content

Bonus Tip:

Read aloud

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UA Little Rock is proud to have the unique opportunity to offer students the chance to work toward earning the only doctoral degree in criminal justice available in the state of Arkansas.

Writing Great Website Content

• determine if content is too long
• see repetition
• find errors in sentences

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Reading your writing aloud helps you:

Questions?

Contact:

Bobbie Handcock

bhandcock@ualr.edu