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Writing for the web training

Writing for the web training. Date 09/06/14 Abigail Parris/ Web Content Editor. Identifying your audience. Identifying your audience. Before you start writing content for your web page, you need to identify your audience – you should write content for them and not for you .

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Writing for the web training

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  1. Writing for the web training Date 09/06/14 Abigail Parris/ Web Content Editor

  2. Identifying your audience

  3. Identifying your audience • Before you start writing content for your web page, you need to identify your audience – you should write content for them and not for you. • Before writing consider: • who you are writing for ( your target audience) • what they’ll be looking for on the website • the message(s) you want to convey. • Can you identify the audiences we may write for on our website? Which groups will you most likely be writing for? • Once you've decided who your audience is, think about the AIDA principleto help you get started with your writing.

  4. The AIDA principle • The AIDA principle stands for: • Attention (or attract) • Interest • Desire • Action. • Bear these points in mind when deciding what information you should include on your web page.

  5. Tone/grammar/style

  6. Tone/grammar/style - key tips • When writing for the web, remember to: • keep sentences short and snappy • have one idea per paragraph • avoid jargon • replace long words with shorter ones • use personal pronouns. • Example

  7. Tone/grammar/style key tips • Try to: • use contractions • write in the active voice rather than the passive • highlight key points in your content with bold • embed hyperlinks within the text • add bullet points if you’re listing items. • Example

  8. Tone/grammar/style – things to avoid • Try to avoid: • American spelling • tautology • using too many adjectives • repetition • capitalising words that don't start sentences • aligning images left • spelling mistakes and typos. • Follow our style guide to avoid errors: http://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/iquad/training/contensis/styleguide.aspx

  9. Search engine optimisation (SEO)

  10. Search engine optimisation • You can use social media to promote news stories.

  11. Search engine optimisation • You can also improve SEO by: • adding keywords to YouTube descriptions when uploading a video to this platform • including short headings with keywords on your page • using meta data and adding keywords to this section • good practice:

  12. Search engine optimisation • Bad practice: • You can also try: • including keywords in the first couple of paragraphs of content • using words your audience will know • regularly updating content • setting up redirects if archiving pages, where necessary • re-using pages.

  13. How to use components to improve layout

  14. How to use components • Use components to reduce the scrolling of a page if it has lots of content. • In this case, use components such as tabbed or content boxes.

  15. How to use components • You can also use components to make a page look more appealing. • You can highlight key pages by inserting quick links into the right-hand column. • You can also try employing our video component to highlight interactive content. • You may also like to use our testimonial component to highlight key facts/scholarships.

  16. How to use components • Feature tables are useful for 'quick facts' or information at a glance. • The FAQ module should be used when writing frequently asked questions. • Events and news should also be added using the events/ news modules.

  17. Proof-reading

  18. Proof-reading • You can avoid errors in your content by: • previewing every page • checking spelling mistakes and typos by using the spell check tool within Contensis • proof-reading everything • reading the content out loud to make sure it makes sense • proof-reading in Word and going through the text backwards • changing the fonts or colours of sentences in Word • copying and pasting your content from Word to Notepad before pasting it into Contensis • or using the Import from Word tool.

  19. Measuring your success

  20. Measuring your success • Now that you've spent time identifying your audience, tailoring your content to them and making your web page look appealing, how do you know if your content is successful? • You can: • use Google Analytics to collect web statistics • see how many times your content has been shared on social media • see how many views your videos on YouTube have received • sometimes you'll get compliments on your pages from other people in your department or visitors to the website. • A more indirect measure of editorial success will depend on the message you were trying to convey/ your call to action.

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