UUNET Intranet Writing Guidelines

Index

  1. Voice
  2. Text Layout
  3. Organization of Material
  4. Titles
  5. Other
  6. Contact

Voice

Brevity is the most important approach to use when writing for the web. Make sentences and paragraphs concise and straightforward. Additionally, try to use these conventions:

  1. Use the active voice.

      2. Instead of writing this:
      First, the document is printed. Then it is faxed to the main office.

      Write this:
      Print the document, then fax it to the main office.

  2. Use objective language. Avoid making claims that cannot be backed up.
  3. Use positive language. It is better to tell people what they can do, then what they cannot.
  4. Be consistent. Try to use the same tone of voice and style of punctuation throughout a document. Also, use the same term for something each time you refer to it. For example, if you refer to a PC, then continue to call it a PC, rather than a computer, machine, or system.
  5. Personality and humor help keep your readers interested, but it is easy to go overboard. Avoid extreme language.

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Text Layout

Readers usually scan or glance through text on a web site. Design the layout of your text with this in mind.

  1. Use bullets, white space, and tables to organize and present information clearly.
  2. Keep the text layout simple and readable. Vertical text, text printed in a circle, and other ways of arranging print can make for interesting graphics, but are difficult to read and distracting in the body of a document.
  3. Keep the use of graphics sparse. Use them only when they are required or enhance the text. See the UUNET Intranet Content Style Guide for standards for graphics.
  4. On pages used for navigation, use as little text as possible. But make content occupy 50 to 80 % of destination pages.
  5. Limit vertical scrolling. Avoid horizontal scrolling at all costs.

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Organization of Material

Your material needs to be organized for the typical online reader. In other words, present material for someone who is quickly scanning the text.

  1. State the main point first. A clear topic orients readers and gives them a reason to stick around.
  2. Use the "inverted-pyramid" method of presenting information by starting with a short conclusion, then adding detail.
  3. Make text into short blocks of print. Break up articles into self-contained sections about the size visible in a browser without scrolling, then link from one section to the next. Alternately, you can provide a brief summary with a link to secondary or in-depth information.
  4. Let the reader select the topic. Set up a navigation page with brief one-line descriptions of topics which link to more detailed information.

Titles

Titles show up in lists by search engines, bookmarks, and in the title bar of windows. Their content must be descriptive and brief "pearls" of clarity. Also, use these guidelines:

  1. Avoid cute titles such as you find in newspaper headlines. Such titles can be confusing or distracting to a casual reader. Also, pages are often viewed out of context.
  2. Avoid initial words like the, an, a, and welcome.
  3. Use the title to help readers orient themselves.

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Other

  1. Read the UUNET Intranet Content Style Guide for standards for fonts, bullets, background, headers and footers, and other stylistic matters.
  2. To help orient readers, try to match text that is linked to the title and/or content of the destination page.
  3. Last, but not least, make sure material stays up-to-date.

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Contact

Contact Louise Robertson with comments and questions about written content on the UUNET Intranet.

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