Writing for the Web Articles & Videos

  • How Chunking Helps Content Processing

    Chunking is a concept that originates from the field of cognitive psychology. UX professionals can break their text and multimedia content into smaller chunks to help users process, understand, and remember it better.

  • Cringeworthy Words to Cut from Online Copy

    The right words can make or break trust; they affect your tone of voice and how people perceive your site.

  • “Learn More” Links: You Can Do Better

    The phrase ‘Learn More’ is increasingly used as a crutch for link labels. But the text has poor information scent and is bad for accessibility. With a little effort, transform this filler copy into descriptive labels that help users confidently predict what the next page will be.

  • 6 Ways to Encourage Social Participation on Intranets

    Promote employee contributions by setting examples, creating enticing topics of conversation, keeping a light tone of voice, and providing positive feedback.

  • Legibility, Readability, and Comprehension: Making Users Read Your Words

    Users won’t read web content unless the text is clear, the words and sentences are simple, and the information is easy to understand. You can test all of this.

  • Headings Are Pick-Up Lines: 5 Tips for Writing Headlines That Convert

    Attractive headlines and titles are critical in making the right first impression. Concise titles that sound authentic and relevant get noticed.

  • Great Summaries on ‘About Us’ Pages Engage Users and Build Trust

    Tell your story on top-level pages in ‘About Us.’ People who trust you are much more open to engaging with your organization and website.

  • A Link is a Promise

    The words in a link label make a strong suggestion about the page that is being linked to. The destination page should fulfill what the anchor text promises.

  • Use Specialized Language for Specialized Audiences

    B2B sites and other sites with specialized content that target professionals or enthusiasts should use their audiences’ jargon to communicate more precisely and professionally.

  • Related Content Boosts Pageviews, When Done Right

    Links that follow up on the user’s current interest encourage site exploration and reduce bounce rates. With the proper invitation, people will stay longer on your site.

  • 3 Tips for Better Product Descriptions on Websites

    Key content requirements for product pages are: answer users’ questions, be direct, and help with product comparison.

  • Accordions Are Not Always the Answer for Complex Content on Desktops

    Longer pages can benefit users. Accordions shorten pages and reduce scrolling, but they increase the interaction cost by requiring people to decide on topic headings.

  • Satisficing: Quickly Meet Users’ Main Needs

    Unless faced with life-changing information, most site visitors won't read all of the content provided but settle for a “good-enough” answer. Better sorting and clearer writing satisfy users without exhausting the limited time they’re willing to spend on a website.

  • Break Grammar Rules on Websites for Clarity

    Web writing differs from print writing to emphasize scannability. Some grammar rules are worth breaking if they improve fast comprehension.

  • Writing Hyperlinks: Salient, Descriptive, Start with Keyword

    To help users quickly find what they need, anchor text should stand out from the body content and accurately describe the page that it refers to.

  • 5 Tips for Avoiding Confusing Category Names

    Category and link labels should tell users what will happen when they click on them.

  • User-centric vs. Maker-centric Language: 3 Essential Guidelines

    To engage users, website copy must speak to readers and not at them. Include words people can relate to, and avoid jargon, business speak, and feature-driven language.

  • Website Reading: It (Sometimes) Does Happen

    When web content helps users focus on sections of interest, users switch from scanning to actually reading the copy.

  • Interesting Facts Make Web Pages Compelling

    Users hunt for facts online, so factually rich content will attract readers and keep their attention.

  • SEO and Usability

    What makes a website good will also give it a high SERP rank, but overly tricky search engine optimization can undermine the user experience.