Everything is a headline
• People don’t read, they scan and skim. • Our attention spans are NOT shorter
than that of a goldfish.
• We expect to accomplish things faster because of the usefulness of the web.
Frontload your writing
• Frontloading: Carry the goods up front.
• Key words should be first words
• Not frontloaded: Ira A. Fulton scholarship application deadline changed
• Frontloaded: Deadline changed for scholarship application
Use words your users use
• Ask yourself these three questions: - Who do you spend time with at work? - Who are you writing for? - Do those two groups use different vocabularies?
“Again, half as long”
•Write comprehensive 1st draft
• Edit to be shorter (and better)
• Shoot for short sentences, too
Ways to shorten your writing:• Shorten very overly lengthy phrases
• Split sentences that multitask
• Cut info that distracts from the main point
Readability statistics
• <= 20 words per sentence is a must
• 14 words per sentence makes an easy-to-read article
•Microsoft Word settings: File – Options – Proofing – Show Readability Statistics
A Web Publishing Disconnect
• Content is published from a big screen, readers read on a small screen• Exercise: Visit your web page on a mobile
device as though you were seeing it for the first time• Observations?