Create a persona—a fictional character developed from a composite of the different user types within your target audience. Write a brief bio outlining your persona’s likes, dislikes, age, occupation, income range, city, web usage, social media preferences, etc. Then use your persona to help you stay on track and write content that is relevant and appealing to your intended readers.

• Divide your copy into chunks that can be easily read and understood.
• Keep sentences short.
• Limit paragraphs to one or two sentences. Stick to one fact or idea per paragraph.
• Use short headings (5-7 words max.) and subheadings to break up your content.
• Make your heads informative and meaningful—not cute and/or vague.
• Use bulleted and numbered lists.
• Highlight keywords within your copy (or embed links strategically to highlight certain words).
• Write in a “voice” that is appropriate for your target audience.  

• Be brief. Use strong verbs and specific, concrete nouns. Minimize adverbs and adjectives. Eliminate redundancy.
• Be bright. Write light, tight, positive sentences rather than negative ones.
• Use active verbs. Eliminate passive voice. Don’t write “This course is required by students” when you can write “Students must take this course.”
• Resist congratulating, welcoming, thanking or complimenting your users for finding your content. Your readers aren’t there to be stroked.
• When it comes to web content, readers want short-cuts, not the scenic route. Don’t make them click too many times to find top-level information.
• Kill the hyperbole. Shun phrases such as “world-renowned”, “Canada’s greatest”, and “cutting-edge.” Your facts and ideas should stand alone, without embellishment.
• Cut your word count. Then cut some more. Headings should be eight words or less; subheads five words or less; sentences 20 words or less; paragraphs 1-3 sentences; documents 200–400 words
• Don’t “bury the lead.” Prioritize your content. Start with your central points and then expand on them in descending order of importance.

Employ the “inverted pyramid” style of writing used by journalists to convey your message faster. List your most important point at the top of an article, followed by your next most important point, then your next, etc.

Using the inverted pyramid style

• Conveys key information quickly
• Enables quick scanning and searching
• Sets the context of later information
• Helps divide information into easily remembered chunks
• Allows for easy editing, as information is presented in order of importance

Define your target audience key messages before you start. You should be able summarize them in a few sentences—or the time needed for a typical elevator ride—and convince users to buy into your narrative.

Use SFU’s editorial style throughout your document and pay attention to detail. Don’t write “email” in one spot and “e-mail” in another. If you have periods at the end of one bullet list make sure all of your lists have periods. Inconsistency is sloppy and distracts from your message.

As much as possible, use the imperative mood—tell users what to do—and use the second-person pronouns you, your and yours to maintain a conversational tone.

Examples:

• Bad: It is imperative that current students empty the contents from their lockers located in the gym area by no later than the 15th of June.
• Good: Clear out your gym locker by June 15.

• Bad: Interested parties should not wait until the last minute to complete their applications. They should complete them as soon as possible without delay.
• Good: Don’t wait—apply now.

• Bad: There is an expectation of normal progress for all students, and although students normally complete the program at different rates, unless there are extenuating circumstances known to the department, completing requirements either at a substantially slower rate than the norm or at level not measuring up to traditional standards of performance will result in an assessment of inadequate, or even unacceptable advancement. If a student cannot uphold normal progress for whatever reason, it is essential that he or she contact his or her supervisor as soon as possible.
• Good: You must complete your program in the time allotted. Tell your supervisor immediately about any problems affecting your progress. Otherwise, if you are late or your marks are poor you may fail the program.

• Jargon is often a sign of lazy writing.
• Technical terminology, discipline-specific idioms, long words and pretentious language will quickly turn off general users and obscure your message. Remember your audience.
• Explain technical concepts in lay terms or rely on dictionaries and other reputable sources to clarify them.
• If your grandmother (or clever 10-year-old nephew) wouldn’t understand what you’ve written, it’s not clear enough for your readers.

Links, or hypertext entries, in your copy stand out from normal text. They are another way readers scan, as they provide additional indicators of what a page is about.

• Spelling and grammatical errors will turn readers away from your web pages. Proofread everything—and if possible have someone else proofread it too—before you post it.
• Use the Preview function in CQ to see how your pages will display before they go live.

• SFU uses CQ, an online content-management system for web authoring. This means that authors do not need to install special software in order to use CQ, only a web browser.
• CQ is the only officially supported content management system at SFU. If your departmental site is not currently built in CQ and you would like to convert, email IT Services at cmd-info@sfu.ca.
• The URL to start a CQ project is www.sfu.ca/itservices/cms/start-cq.html.
• Firefox is the only fully supported browser for using CQ. If you are unable to install Firefox on your computer, you can use Chrome as an alternative. You may need to contact your IT Desktop Support to have them install Chrome on your computer.
• Firefox Version 16 is the best-supported browser right now. For the most current recommended browser see: www.sfu.ca/itservices/cms/howto/cq-web-browser-compatibility.html.
• SFU IT Services has an extensive CQ training guide on their website, at www.sfu.ca/itservices/cms/howto.