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The trouble with page titles
Writing good page titles is one of the more challenging aspects of writing for the web. With only 60–70 characters to work with, we have to accurately and fully identify our content. The words we use...
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Page titles: accessibility for web writers, part 8
Descriptive page titles help users find content, decide if it’s relevant, orient themselves when they have multiple pages or tabs open, and re-find content using browser functions. Many web pages have...
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Is your content fit for social media linking?
You know you need to produce useful, quality content if you want it shared on social media channels. But are you aware of the text that is displayed by default when someone shares a link to one of your...
View ArticleWriting for the web versus writing for print
In my web writing workshops, I’m often asked about the differences between writing for the web and writing for print. Writers are aware that they need to take a different approach, and most understand...
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Don’t let your CMS wreck your content, part 1
Content management systems aim to make publishing and managing web content easier. But some systems have limiting features, or are set up in ways that won’t help your search engine rankings or your...
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Don’t let your CMS wreck your content, part 2
In part 1, I wrote about problems with page titles generated by content management systems. In this article, we look at problems with generating file names and text alternatives for images. And I make...
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5 tips for writing better microcontent
Microcontent is small-scale content. It usually acts as a label for content that isn’t yet visible on the screen. So it needs to work hard to communicate and connect with users. Most web writers...
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3 useful tools for web writers
One of the great things about the Internet is the range of tools and information now available—often for free. But sometimes the choices seem limitless, while our time to explore and try things out is...
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The trouble with page titles
When WYSIWYG editors ruled, page titles were invisible When WYSIWYG editors were the most popular publishing tools, many people didn’t even realise they had to write a page title. The title edit field...
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Page titles – accessibility for web writers
Benefits of good page titles Descriptive page titles help users: find content decide if the content is relevant orient themselves when they have multiple pages or tabs open re-find content using...
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Link purpose – accessibility for web writers
Benefits of descriptive link text Meaningful links are important for people with: vision impairments who use a screen reader. Many people tab through the links on page, or open a ‘links list’. When...
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Writing for the web versus print
One of the main things that sets web writing apart from writing for print is the technical knowledge web writers need. They should know about: findability—how and where people look for and find...
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Don’t let your CMS wreck your content – part 1
The importance of the page <title> The title plays a crucial role in search engine optimisation. Words used in the title are possibly the most important source of keywords. The title also helps...
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Don’t let your CMS wreck your content – part 2
File names File names for web pages usually form part of the page’s web address. They need to be: Short and meaningful because they are often: spoken (on the telephone by customer support staff, for...
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A-Z of better web writing
A – Abbreviations You use abbreviations with care. Acronyms and other types of abbreviations are convenient if we all know them. They make speaking and writing faster. But if your users aren’t...
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5 tips for writing better microcontent
Most web writers produce the following kinds of microcontent: Page titles (labels for pages linked in search results, shared on social media networks, listed in RSS feeds, saved in bookmarks or...
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3 useful tools for web writers
1. Hemingway Editor Do you struggle to write clearly? Are you prone to prattling on or battling with bureaucratese? It’s time to try the Hemingway Editor. Hemingway tells you when your words, phrases...
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