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Web Site Development Policy
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SECTION III. CONTENT TEXT - WRITING/STYLE/PRESENTATIONB. StructureSTANDARDS:1. Avoid wordiness.
2. All text on institutional sites should be clear, accurate, well-organized, and timely. “Hook” the user by putting the most important information at the top, with more explanatory, detailed information further down (the “inverted pyramid” style of writing). 3. Break up blocks of text intended for online reading into logical chunks and structure them for scanning. Headings, sub-headings, and bullets can help accomplish this. (See exceptions in Item 5 of this section.) Make sparing use, however, of bold face, all caps, and italics.
5. Conventional linear prose is completely appropriate on the Web in certain circumstances, for example, policy statements, reports, feature articles, course descriptions. In those instances, however, recognize that the pages are intended for printing and reading off-line; make sure that the pages are printer-friendly. 6. Avoid calling attention to the conventions of the Web or to the mechanics of Web navigation. If possible, avoid using phrases such as “click here,” “follow this link,” or “select this option.” Write the sentence as you normally would, and place the link anchor on the most relevant word or short phrase in the sentence. Poor
Better
7. Do not place links near the top of your text – or sprinkle lots of links throughout your text. Such links are distracting and invite users to go elsewhere before they have finished reading your information. Put only the most important links within the main body of your text. Group all illustrative, parenthetic, or footnote links at the bottom of the document or in a sidebar, where they are easy to find but not distracting. |
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University of Wisconsin–River Falls |