1.

WEB NEWS WRITING STYLE

Web news Writing for websites is not the same as writing for print media.
Effective web news writing requires writers and editors who understand
the possibilities, limitations, and interactivity of the web, as well as how
people read web and print copy differently.
There are two main reasons for this:
 People have to read from a computer screen, which is more difficult
and can be an unpleasant experience if for long periods of time.
 People who use the web are usually looking for specific information;
they will be less patient.

There are a few simple rules that web authors can use to make the
experience more pleasant for the user:
Be concise
 Make your sentences short and to the point.
 Start with clear information on what the page is about. Once a user
has established that the page contains information that interests
them, they are more likely to read the text properly.
 Because people read slower on-screen, they want to read less text. If
you can pare down your language without sacrificing your content,
you should do so.
 You can be concise even if your subject is very complex. Start with an
overview, or even an abstract. Narrow your subject as you go on,
giving more and more detail towards the bottom of your page. This
is known as the 'inverted pyramid' style of writing. Very detailed
background information, or information of interest only to a
minority of readers, can be presented on secondary pages, linked
from your main page. Journalists have been using this style for years
and it works particularly well on web pages as users will frequently
only read the top of the page.
 Delete introductory text. This is generally what you skip through to
get to the facts. Avoid starting sentences with passive phrases (ie 'It
has been observed that explorer scouts would prefer...').
 Try to get to the point quickly (think journalism, not formal minutes
or reports). Use short, simple words and sentences.
 Don't reinvent the wheel - if information is available elsewhere on
your site, just link to it.
 Avoid unnecessary content. Most web users will not bother reading
marketing blurb, detailed information or 'welcome' messages.
 Use one idea per paragraph.
 Only publish a website you can manage. If you don't have the
resources to check each piece of content at least once every three
months, you need to reduce the size of your website.
 Write in the first person (ie We want to encourage more people
outdoors', not 'The Scout Association is seeking to try and encourage
more people outdoors') unless it is a news story (where The Scout
Association is required to avoid confusion).
Make your text easy to scan
 Web users rarely read text word for word; they tend to scan pages
for keywords or interesting headlines.
 It is possible to write with scanning readers in mind. The best way is
to think about the structure of your information.
 Headings and subheadings are useful for structuring information for
scannability. Use two or three levels of headings so that your reader
can navigate the information easily.
 Headings must be meaningful. A good heading should convey clearly
what the following text is about. Do not rely on context to make the
meaning clear; a scanning reader will fix their eye on one or two
words without reading the text around them.
 Avoid long, uniform blocks of text; users will shy away and may even
be discouraged from scanning when faced with such density. Break
up your text into shorter paragraphs than you normally would.
 Use bulleted lists and other such elements to relieve the user's eye.
Bullet points also have the advantage of bringing important points to
a scanner's attention.
 Remember that text used as a hyperlink will stand out (it will be
coloured and underlined). Scanners will fix on this text.
  If you can, avoid long pages; users don't like scrolling, and will often
only do so if you have already caught their interest in some way, so
your top level pages must be short and to the point. However, do
not break up information that belongs together into separate pages
just in order to avoid scrolling. Moving pages is more disruptive than
scrolling.
 Scanning readers will often read the first line of each paragraph, and
skip the rest if it seems irrelevant. The first sentence of each
paragraph should therefore suggest what is to follow.
 Pull quotes can be used to catch the eye of your reader. A pull quote
is a few key words or quote pulled out from the body of the text, and
displayed in a larger font/different style. This is a common technique
used in magazines.
Write objectively
Consider your target audience and use your common sense. Avoid using
the passive tense where possible - users will engage more readily with
content written in the active tense.
Eg 'It was decided' is less engaging, and inspires less confidence, than 'We
decided'.
Include context
Consider that any web page can be accessed out of context. For example, a
user may come directly to a web page through a search engine rather than
from the home page of a site. Keep this in mind when writing the content
for your pages.
Ensure that each page carries enough information to let the user know
where they are and what the topic is. Don't worry about repeating yourself
from one page to another. You can never assume that a user has seen any
of the other pages on the site.
Provide a call to action
All useful web content drives an action and should end with a call to action,
such as a link, a phone number, a form, etc. After reading a good piece of
web content the reader should either know something they didn't know
before, or be able to do something they couldn't do before.
Use of images
While images can add a different dimension to your web page, consider if it
is enhancing or hindering. Images can be large files, and increase page
download time. It is up to the author to decide whether the illustrative
value of an image outweighs the disadvantage of longer download times.
Images should always be associated with your text.
Linking text
Do not use ☁click here☂ or ☁read more☂ as these will not make sense to
anyone.
Where possible, avoid linking within sentences as this can disrupt the user☂
s reading experience. Try to put links at natural action points - at the end of
a page, or a paragraph, or as a last resort at the end of a sentence. If you
are linking within sentences, try to keep links brief but descriptive:
 I did my beaver scout leader training at Gilwell Park Conference
Centre [link to adult training pages].
 I did my beaver scout leader training at Gilwell Park Conference
Centre.
 [link to a page about beaver scout leader training at Gilwell Park.
However, this is getting too long so it would be better to just
highlight beaver scout leader training again.]
If links are separate from the text eg at end of an article, it☂s standard to
link the title of the website and then a short description:
 Gilwell Park Conference Centre ♠ is a conference centre owned by
The Scout Association and situated on the edge of Epping Forest,
only 25 minutes from central London.
Headings and bullet points
Headings and bullet points should be consistent. Use the style sheets to
choose the relevant heading.
Bullet points should begin with a capital letter when they are each a
complete new sentence. They should also each individually end with a full
stop. For example:

Section two is built around three main activities:

 Task one is to agree a personal learning plan with your chosen
learner.
  Task two is to consider how you would deal with a range of
sentences.
 Task three is to complete some validations.
They do not need to start with a capital letter when they are being used to
offer several endings to the same sentence. For example:

A training adviser
 believes in Scouting values
 understands the adult training scheme structure and requirements
 is supportive of adults working in a volunteer context.
What if the text is just too complex to cut?
In some cases, no matter how much the text is repurposed, it is always
going to remain text heavy. If this is the case consider these (offline)
alternatives:
 Use .pdf downloads to facilitate printing. In this case, add (PDF)
after the link eg Fundays order form (PDF)
 Use 'print this article' functionality to rework pages for printable
format so that users can read them offline.