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Web Writing 101 by Elizabeth Rhoads

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Shortly after I had accepted my position as web content coordinator at Lycoming College, I had the opportunity to attend Neilsen Norman Group Usability Week in 2011. I’ve always considered myself to be a strong writer, but I never realized the notable differences between print and web writing.

The difference comes down to this: just because we can read at or above college level doesn’t mean we want to, especially when we’re online. Consider the atmosphere when you’re reading a book and when you’re reading something online. Usually reading a print piece lends itself to a quiet area, whereas online articles are often read on the go, with a lot of distractions.

Online content should be written with this fact in mind.

So, here are a few tips to transform your print writing into effective web content:

  • Keep all content between a sixth and eighth grade reading level
  • Use short words
  • Online text should be 50% less than the print version
  • Include information that people really need to know, rather than what you want to tell them
  • Break content into chunks (one idea and a maximum of three sentences per chunk)
  • Use bullet points – lists in bullet points are read 70% of the time (compared to 55% read in paragraph form)
  • Use a sans-serif font
  • Use size 10-12 font – don’t go any smaller, it’s hard on the eyes
  • Keep pages short, but if you need to make a page longer, include a summary at the top of the page, followed by descriptive subheading so that it’s easy to navigate

Remember, simple is better.  The simpler you keep it, the longer your audience will stay engaged with your website.

Elizabeth RhoadsElizabeth Rhoads currently works as web content coordinator for a small liberal arts college in Central Pennsylvania. She graduated from Susquehanna University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Communications. She is an alumna of the White House Internship Program.  Rhoads serves the PRSA New Professionals Section Executive Committee as programming director and chair-elect.

Higher education PR: who controls the college website? by Elizabeth Rhoads

Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

High school students begin their college search online. They explore Princeton Review, US News & World Report and search for some of the colleges they’re familiar with on Google. College students are directed to their college’s website to get more detailed information on a few assignments for the semester. Professors who have completed research in their field want to make sure that their information is on the website for everyone to see.

One of the most crucial parts of public relations in higher education is a website. Considering that the majority of high school students spend quite a bit of time online, a college’s website often serves as the first impression for prospective students. While it’s used as the primary recruiting tool, it also has to serve a couple of other audiences – current students and faculty members. So, websites in higher education are more complicated than they may appear.

Not only does a college website have to serve a few different audiences, but everyone wants to have control over their part of it. I recently read an article that questioned why college websites are so awful, given that faculty and staff in higher education are often perceived as being a very intelligent crowd. Part of the answer is that while there is a common theme and template, every department has their own information that they feel is absolutely essential to display on the website. It’s often impossible for one or two web designers to be able to keep up with all the constant updates and posting, in addition to somewhat serving as a filter to what gets put up online. As a result, many departments are given the ability to update the site, and therefore, the website is actually written by several different people, in several different tones.

The question becomes, who’s the most important audience to serve? The answer depends on the college.

Personally, I believe the most important thing is to have a consistent tone throughout the entire website that is appealing to prospective students. Although a second person, conversational style was rare years ago, it has become more common. Rather than trying to formally convey the college, or departments’, mission and vision, I believe simply stating the benefits of the college (or department) in a conversational style is the best way to communicate with prospective students through a website. As for the faculty – often times they don’t have much time to dedicate to posting content on the website, which gives someone else an opportunity to write for them. That’s where we come in – who could be better for the job than a PR professional?

Elizabeth RhoadsElizabeth Rhoads currently serves as the Web Content Coordinator for a small liberal arts college in Central Pennsylvania. She graduated from Susquehanna University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Communications. She is an alumna of the White House Internship Program.  Rhoads serves the PRSA New Professionals Section Executive Committee as Programming Chair.