Know your user. Identifying your target audience is essential. See our Universal Communications Project Planner or our Tips & Tools Page for more information on audience and other important considerations.

Web users are there to DO or GET something. Whether you are selling information or a product, fundraising or gaining recognition for your cause, make sure your users can do or get something from your site.

Web users scan. They don’t read word by word. Break your information into “chunks” that can be easily accessed and comprehended. Use heads and subheads to partition your content. Use bulleted lists whenever possible.

Do:	Find out how to     • get a job     • find the perfect apartment     • meet your ideal mate
Don't:	Read about ways to acclimate to your new location with tips on conducting a job search, obtaining the apartment of your dreams, and finding good dating prospects.

Prioritize your content. Put key facts the users wants at the top of your site. Web users are impatient. The web is not a forum on which to feature histories, mission statements, formal strategic plans, and lengthy biographies. If you choose to post content like this, place it deep in the site and provide links to it. Users who are interested will find it and those who aren’t won’t be turned off by having to dig through it to find what they really want.

Put information in context. Writing for print (linear text) is not effective on the web (hypertext). Links are a major difference. If your content doesn’t have links, it’s not web text.

Be clear, direct, and immediately engaging. The web is not the place to be artful and clever. Lead with your main point, then elaborate. Don’t save “the punch line” for the end of the paragraph.

Keep it short. Use as few words as possible to communicate your message: approximately half as many words as you would in print.

Do:	“Apply here” [link to application]
Don't:	“Enroll in the program by completing the online application available on this site.”

Guidelines:
Headings 4–8 words
Sentences: 8–20 words
Paragraphs: 3–10 sentences
Documents: 300–500 words

Talk to the user. “You” is the most powerful word on the web. Always write in first or second person.

Do:	“Get advice you need to write effective web copy that guarantees your company’s success.”
Don't:	“Users can review our suggestions on writing for the web to optimize their organization’s marketing efforts.”

Speak in the language of your user. Highly technical terms, jargon, and formal language are a turn-off unless it is appropriate to your entire audience.

Do:	“Rutgers researchers are studying patients who have suffered massive strokes.”
Don't:	“Rutgers researchers are conducting studies on transcient ischemic episodes in a control group of subjects.”

Use action words. Write active sentences. Start headlines, subheads, and bullet points with powerful action words. The passive voice takes the punch out of your message.

Write great headlines. The web is an attention-competitive environment. Only clear, compelling headlines grab the attention of users.

Do:	“Rutgers Philosophy Department Ranked No. 1”
Don't:	“Survey Findings Report Philosophy at Rutgers among Best in Nation”

Write great metadata for every page. Metadata (or metatags) consists of keywords, a title, and a description of your page that is written into the HTML code. Search engines use metadata to find and describe your pages. (There are other types of metadata, such as copyright, author, and abstract metatages, but title, description, and keywords are the most crucial in our context.)

Write powerful and concise metatag titles and descriptions. Many search engines display the metatag title and/or the first 15 to 25 words of the metatag description in the search results. You should have title and description metatags for every page in your site. Make titles very brief and specific, but extremely descriptive. Make metatag descriptions state the essence of what is on the page in as few words as possible.

Write keywords for how people search. Keywords describe the content of your page/site. Search engines use keywords to categorize your page. They are written into the HTML code and are invisible to the reader when written as metadata. Create keywords from the user’s point of view, not yours, for example, “heart disease” versus “cardiopulmonary disorders.” Make sure they are relevant to your site. Also use keywords in your visible content, not just in the HTML code—not all search engines capture metatag keywords. Test popularity and use of your keywords on Google or Yahoo, or use a commercial service like overture.com or wordtracker.com.

Proofread! Proofread your copy. Don’t rely on computer spell-checkers. Use a professional proofreader before you post your content, or at the very least, a colleague who has not previously seen the material. Spelling errors reflect poorly on your organization, especially in a university atmosphere. Proofread again after the programming phase. Things can look quite different online and errors can occasionally be introduced in the process.

Check and recheck your facts and links. Incorrect information is useless to your users and reflects badly on you and your organization. Double-check phone numbers, statistics, dates, titles, addresses, and link URLs for accuracy before you post your content. Recheck on a regular basis to make sure the information is still valid.

Look for good examples online. Look at what the most successful sites are doing and mimic them.

Did you find these tips helpful? Is there information we should add to our web writing guide? Please use our web feedback form.