Writing For The Web  

The graphics may be gonzo, the technology cutting edge, but it's well-written content that brings visitors to your site and keeps them coming back. In this course, you'll learn proven principles of web writing (conciseness, effective hypertext links, putting the message “above the fold”) to help visitors find information and navigate your site. You'll learn how to write specifically for online readers. In-class exercises will help you practice your web writing skills. Personal feedback from instructors will build confidence in your web writing.

What You’ll Learn
You’ll learn how web writing is different from print writing and why print documents don’t work on the web as-is.  You’ll learn the traits of a well written website and how to incorporate these traits into your web writing.  You’ll learn how to satisfy the needs of a variety of users and how to help users find what they want.

Course Topics

• What users look for in a web site
• How to write user-focused content
• How to write scannable, concise articles for the web
• Principles of effective web writing
• How site navigation affects web writing
• How to write effective hypertext links, both in navigation and within text
• How web writing differs from print writing
• How to repurpose print documents for the web
  

Course Activities

• Reviewing sample web sites
• Developing a list of traits of a well-written web site
• Writing original web content
• Revising web content
• Writing hypertext links
• Reviewing your own web writing

Course Length: one day