Web Authoring Best Practices 

Please note: uwrf.edu is undergoing a redesign and our web authoring practices and policies are subject to change. Additional website management information can be found here. UCM is available to consult with content strategy, page layout, design and SEO.

Consider who your target audience is as you develop content. Is the primary audience prospective students, current students, all students, employees, alumni or the community? Follow these best practices for authoring institutional webpages:  

Brevity 

• Do not build a page unless it’s absolutely necessary. Redirect to similar content if available elsewhere on the site. 
• Write no more than half of the text you would use in a printed publication. 
• Keep the text short, bulleted when possible and provide hyperlinks to detailed information. 
• Is the content even necessary to post? What is the call to action? How likely will the site visitor find it helpful? Is it information they would be seeking in the first place?  

Readability 

• On long pages, provide anchor jumps within the text and/or navigation throughout the page to allow the user to return to the top of the page. 
• Use meaningful rather than “cute” headings. 
• Use emphasis (bold/italic) to make important words catch the user’s eye. 
• Use a bulleted list instead of a running paragraph when appropriate. 
• Use links to split long complex pages into multiple pages. 

Types of Content 

• Consider how long the content will be accurate and if your department has a process in place to update outdated content.  
• Exercise discretion, thoughtfulness and respect for your colleagues, associates and the university’s supporters, alumni, community, and social media followers. 
• Before posting, ask yourself: Would I want to see this published on the front page of the newspaper? If not, it is probably not acceptable for a university website. 
• Use of non-UWRF links on our institutional website is limited and regularly monitored to ensure that content meets institutional standards. External links that connect to non-UWRF shared multi-author resources are to be avoided. See the full external links policy here.

Clarity and Focus 

• Consistency and accuracy ensure that the university conveys the same messages to all its audiences throughout its many diverse recruiting and promotional publications. 
• University Communications and Marketing provides a Writing Style Guide for web authors as an aid for excellent communication style upheld by the university. 
• The Writing Style Guide and the tips below will help you in producing effective, accurate and consistent copy. 
• Always keep your audience in mind and write accordingly. 
• Avoid the use of acronyms. Always spell it out on first reference. It is acceptable to use an acronym for a formal college name, but only on second reference and thereafter. 
• Use only one space after a period. 

Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation 

• If a style question is not addressed in the university’s Writing Style Guide, then consult the Associated Press Stylebook. The Associated Press Stylebook is the guide for all website content after the UWRF Writing Style Guide. It is recommended that all authors have access to this resource.
• The Associated Press Stylebook is organized alphabetically by general category. For example, for a question about whether “B.A.” requires periods or “bachelor’s degree” needs an apostrophe, look under the entry “academic degrees.” Style questions regarding numbers are answered under the entry “numbers.” The stylebook has specialized sections for Sports Guidelines and Style, Business Guidelines and Style and a Guide to Punctuation. If a style question is not addressed in the university’s Writing Style Guide, then consult the Associated Press Stylebook. 
• If an answer is not found, call University Communications and Marketing at 715-425-3771 or send your question to marketing@uwrf.edu.

Copyright/Trademark 

• No webpage can contain any copyrighted or trademarked material without permission except as permitted by law. Photographs, drawings, video clips or sound clips should not be used on a page without permission except as permitted by law. 

Link/Content Review 

• Website owners must conduct an annual review of their web pages to ensure information is current and is free of misspellings, grammatical or style errors. Inaccurate information diminishes a site’s credibility. 
• The Division of Technology Services offers web-based help to repair broken hyperlinks. Email dots@uwrf.edu for assistance. 
• University Communications and Marketing will review content, including external links and contact authors with any concerns or feedback. UCM reserves the right to edit subject matter that violates its content standards and/or UW System Workplace Conduct Expectations

Security and Privacy 

• Do not collect student ID numbers, W numbers, social security numbers, credit card numbers or other sensitive data through the CMS web forms without prior consultation with the Division of Technology Services. 
• Do not use photos of minors without photo releases.