Creating a web page is easy. Creating one that people can quickly understand, navigate and use takes a little more thought.
When you create content for the UTC website, remember that most visitors arrive with a task in mind. They may be looking for a deadline, trying to apply for a program, finding a form, checking requirements or figuring out who to contact. Your job as a content editor is to help them get there as quickly as possible.
Here are some practices that make a big difference.
Start With What Your Visitor Needs
Before creating a page, ask a simple question:
What should someone be able to do after visiting this page?
Build the page around that answer. Important information and actions should appear early rather than being buried beneath introductions, history or organizational descriptions.
Instead of beginning with:
Welcome to the Department of…
Consider starting with what your audience came to find: programs, services, deadlines, requirements or next steps.
Write for Scanning, Not Reading
People rarely read a web page from beginning to end. They scan.
Make that easy by using:
- Short paragraphs
- Descriptive headings
- Bulleted lists when appropriate
- Clear links and calls to action
- Plain language
- The most important information first
A visitor should be able to glance at your headings and understand what the page contains.
Make Your Link Text Mean Something
Avoid links such as Click Here, Learn More or Read More when you can describe the destination instead.
Instead of:
To view the academic calendar, click here.
Use:
View the Academic Calendar.
Descriptive links are easier to scan, more accessible to people using assistive technology and give visitors confidence about where a link will take them.
Use Headings for Structure, Not Decoration
Headings organize information. They aren’t simply a way to make text bigger.
Your page title is the primary heading. Sections underneath it should use heading levels in a logical order. Don’t choose a heading level because you like its size or appearance—the website’s design should handle that for you.
Good structure benefits everyone and is especially important for visitors using screen readers.
Keep Important Information on the Web
Have a flyer? A Word document? A PDF?
Before uploading it, ask whether the information would work better as a web page.
Web content is generally easier to use on phones, easier to search, easier to update and easier to make accessible. Documents still have their place—especially when something needs to be downloaded, printed or retained—but they shouldn’t automatically be the first choice.
If the information is meant to be read online, make it web content whenever possible.
Don’t Make Visitors Decode University Language
Higher education loves acronyms, department names and terminology. Your visitors may not.
Write for the person who knows the least about UTC, not the person sitting in the office next to you.
Spell out unfamiliar acronyms the first time you use them, explain specialized terminology when necessary and use the words your audience is likely to search for.
Make Calls to Action Obvious
If there is something you want visitors to do, tell them.
Apply for Admission.
Request Information.
Schedule an Appointment.
View Degree Requirements.
Contact the Department.
Don’t make visitors read three paragraphs to discover their next step.
Remember Accessibility Is Part of Content Creation
Accessibility isn’t something that gets added to a page later. Editors contribute to accessibility every time they create content.
That means:
- Adding alternative text that communicates the purpose of meaningful images
- Using headings correctly
- Writing descriptive links
- Avoiding instructions that depend only on color or visual position
- Creating meaningful text instead of placing important information inside images
- Using tables for data, not page layout
- Making documents accessible when a document really is necessary
Accessible content usually turns out to be better content for everyone.
Don’t Duplicate Content Unless You Have To
Copying the same information onto several pages may seem convenient—until something changes.
Then someone has to remember everywhere it was copied.
Whenever possible, maintain information in one authoritative location and link to it from other pages. This reduces outdated or contradictory information and makes maintaining the website much easier.
Review Before You Publish—and After
Publishing shouldn’t be the last time you look at a page.
Before publishing, check:
Is this accurate? Is it current? Is it understandable? Is it accessible? Is it still necessary?
And periodically ask the most dangerous question of all:
Does this page still need to exist?
Good web content isn’t measured by how many pages we create. Sometimes the best content improvement is updating, combining or removing something that’s already there.
Your Editor Action
Pick one page you manage and look at it as though you’ve never seen it before.
Can you tell what the page is about in five seconds? Can you quickly find the most important information? Is the next action obvious?
If not, you already know where to start.