Headlines are fundamentally important web copy. They are anchor points for web visitors to latch onto. When scanning a web page, headlines are what the visitor reads first to decide whether the information contained is relevant to their search.
Headlines are also hugely important for indexing web pages on search engines. They let search engines, like Google, know exactly what the page is about. Headlines are usually included within search results.
Because you are writing for both visitors who are scanning a web page and those who are reading search listings for relevant information, write headlines to aid and assist both. Write descriptive headings that give context and meaning to a page. Write the headline so that it stands out and contains keywords that people are looking for.
Poor example: About Us
Good example: About , our services and a short history
Rules for writing good headings
- Write headlines that summarise the whole page – Long, descriptive and specific to the page
- Make certain they are left-aligned, centred headings get overlooked
- Preceded by a summary in regular body copy (headlines proceeded by sub headings detract from the headline)
- Write plenty of sub-headlines, a rule of thumb is to have a sub heading per every 100-200 words
- Make sure you are headlining a specific page, not a section of a website
- Make the headline stand out from normal body copy
- Keep to one topic per page
- Make sure the headline is unique, lots use About Us but only your company will use About
- Front load headlines with keywords relevant to the page, but keep it natural and readable
- Write positive headlines, no negative words or double negatives
Powerful summaries for web pages
Summaries appear at the top of a page, directly below the main headline. They need to be clear and purposeful on both the visible page and in search results. Make it a rule to write a summary for every web page. Many readers want to be reassured that they have found the right location for the information that they are looking for, providing a summary enables this. Some readers require just a top-level overview of the subject. Summaries provide that also.
Page description summaries should simply describe the topic and the scope of coverage within the page. In some instances, the information will be too complicated to summarise. In these instances just describe what is on the page.
Like page headings, make sure that summaries are front loaded with relevant keywords for the subject covered. Summaries will appear in search results so the keywords need to leap out of the page. Never start with introductory or background information. Never start with an explanation.
Rules for writing powerful summaries
- Start a summary at the top of the page directly after the main headline
- Make it a rule to have a summary for every page
- Don’t start with introductory or background text
- Don’t start with an explanation, you need to summarise the page content
- No one wants to listen to a history lesson
- Chit chat and fancy language is not for web copy, especially summaries
- Front load keywords of relevance towards the start of the summary
- Nail the first 16 words, these are going to be the most read on page and in search results
Write in plain language
It is important that what you write online is concise, purposeful and structured. You do not need to write in an overly friendly, flowery and fancy manner. Describe what you mean clearly, and get to the point fast. Remove unnecessary sentences and redundant words.
Make certain that you are writing for the reader. Before writing, always ask whom am I talking to? Avoid writing for yourself, your department or for stakeholders. Keep the task firmly focused on the needs of the reader. After just one read, your audience should be able to grasp exactly the content that you are describing.
Structure the content in the most logical way. Unstructured content is difficult to read. Make sure that the main point comes first. This is an inverted pyramid style and is commonly used by news articles. You are providing the most relevant content first with the main message that is to be conveyed. Supporting and additional information follows. In depth, analysis for anyone who is interested in the subject comes last. If a reader wants to gather all the information, they will. Every reader will get the main message of the page, those that dig deeper will get supporting information.
Begin a page of content with a summary. The summary should appear immediately after the main headline. Further summaries appear under sub headlines or sections in long pages. Summaries should not duplicate information that is contained within the body copy. It is best to write summaries last. They should be 1-2 sentences in length and, as they suggest, summarise the content.
Rules for writing in plain language
- Write concise, to the point sentences
- Be concise, but not abrupt
- Write for your readers, not for yourself
- Be polite, but delete chit-chat
- Content should be understandable by the intended audience after just one read
- Structure the page content in an inverted pyramid style
- Add summaries immediately after the main headline
- Remove unnecessary sentences
- Delete redundant words
- Provide a sub headline per every 100-200 words
- Don’t be scared to remove whole pages or even sections if they are irrelevant and unnecessary for the reader
Link text (also known as Calls to Action)
Best practice implementation of Link text is very important in web copy. Links are the web’s navigation so the text used to describe where the user is going to end up needs to be meaningful and appropriate.
Whilst using click here might seem like the easiest way to link to another page/PDF, it is actually quite unhelpful. Here's a summary of reasons why click here is inadvisable.
Links that clearly explain where they are taking a user are more helpful than click here which makes the user read more of the content around the link to find out where it's going to take them. This reduces the speed in which users can scan a page for the information they're looking for which results in a poorer user experience.
Search engines use links as a source of information during searches. If your links aren't relevant to the page they take you to, they become less relevant to search engines.
Screen readers (software used to read the information displayed on a screen to users who are blind, visually impaired, illiterate or have learning difficulties) often read out all the links on a page first. This helps the user navigate to their desired destination more quickly, however if they hear 'click here' half a dozen times it's rather unhelpful.
Further reading
http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/noClickHere
Authors: Kevin Rapley – User Experience Designer, Diploma – Web Content Writing and Richard Jones – User Experience Design Team Lead
