writing for the web for the win

ALA Annual Conference

Ignite Session

January 31st, 2015

Heidi Steiner Burkhardt

Head of Digital Services

Kreitzberg Library, Norwich University

@heidi_sb

“You have to build your side of the conversation

into the site.” - Redish (pg. 5)

What are they coming to

your website to do?

Identify primary audiences

Demographics

Library Statistics

Surveys somebody else did

Extra Credit: “Your App Makes Me Fat”

Ordering

your content

Essential Message

• Sequence or time

• Audience

• Questions asked in order

• Task (I need to…)

Ordering

your content

Keep it

scannable

• Organize using headers

Keep it

scannable

• Organize using headers

• Highlight keywords

• Use bulleted lists

Keep it

scannable

• Organize using headers

• Highlight keywords

• Use bulleted lists

• One idea per paragraph

• 50% of usual words

It is a

conversation

• We/Us/Our and I/You/Your

It is a

conversation

• We/Us/Our and I/You/Your

• Plain language. Avoid

jargon.

• Use active voice.

Save time

of the reader

• Get to the point and stop

• Use parallel structure

Save time

of the reader

• Get to the point and stop

• Use parallel structure

• Cut unnecessary words

• Space out nouns

Font Choices

• Sans Serifs are best

• All caps is yelling…stay

away

• Use italics sparingly

• Never underline

Links

• No Click Here. Ever.

• Clear, concise and

meaningful

• Words, phrases or a

sentence

• No more than 2/sentence

Heidi Steiner Burkhardt

hsteiner@norwich.edu @heidi_sb www.heidisb.com

Works CitedNielsen, J. (1997). How users read on the web. Nielsen Norman Group. Accessed at http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/ on 8 May 2014.

-- (2006). F-Shaped pattern for reading web content. Nielsen Norman Group. Accessed at http://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/ on 8 May 2014.

-- (2008). How little do users read? Nielsen Norman Group. Accessed at http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-little-do-users-read/ on 24 April 2014.

Redish, G. (2007). Letting go of words: writing web content that works. Elsevier: San Fransciso.

Sierra, K. (2013). “Your app makes me fat.” Serious Pony. Accessed at http://seriouspony.com/blog/2013/7/24/your-app-makes-me-fat on 8 May 2014.

Works ConsultedClass notes from Library Juice Academy’s Writing for the Web course with Rebecca Blakiston and Nicole Capdarest.

Editorial Standards for Content on the UAL Website. University of Arizona Libraries. Provided via Writing for the Web Course.

Liegl, C. (2013). Kennedy Library web communications: A simple guide to good web content. Accessed at http://lib.calpoly.edu/about/publications/2013/web_communications_handbook.pdf on 24 April 2014.

Aaron Schmidt http://www.walkingpaper.org/ and

The User Experience Library Journal

column

Nielsen Norman Group http://www.nngroup.com/

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug

Letting Go of Words by Ginny Redish

Further Reading