Writing good website texts

Good website texts should be well structured, especially easy to understand and short. Professionally and appropriately selected images will make the text less rigid and encourage you to read on.

Readability

Texts are perceived differently on the web than in print media. Instead of closely reading the texts, web users mainly just skim over the contents. In addition, the attention span of the reader is considerably smaller on the internet. The range of information is diverse and users are able to quickly switch between different contents.

Therefore, important information should be visible and always appear at the beginning of longer texts. More extensive texts should be prepared in a reader-friendly way and structured with paragraphs. Working with subheadings, a table of contents with links makes it possible to quickly jump to relevant sections of text and absorb information. It should also be worded in an understandable way. Avoid long and complicated sentences by concentrating on one statement per sentence. Avoid unnecessary filler words or duplications. Use an active language, verbs instead of nouns, as well as coherent adjectives. Foreign words or technical language should be explained on pages that are intended for a general public not familiar with specialist terms.

Visual content such as images, graphs, diagrams or videos can support the written content and improve the assimilation of complex information. Therefore, make your content varied by using these media and the box elements in the WebCMS. An overview of the application scenarios and design examples for the WebCMS elements is available on our WebCMS help pages on the design elements & templates page.

Accessibility

When writing for the web, however, it is not only important to ensure that the content is informative and comprehensible, but also that the text and image elements are accessible to all readers. The content of a website must be accessible to all. Information on accessible implementation can be found on our WebCMS help page regarding accessibility.

Checklist for editorial contributions

The checklist for editorial contributions summarises the most important rules for good web texts.

• The most important thing first: Put the core statements and most important messages at the beginning of your content.
• Keep an eye on your target group and prepare the content from their point of view. Take a critical look at your content and ask yourself relevant user questions, such as
  • "What does my target group want to know?
  • What is my target group looking for?
  • Can someone unfamiliar with the university find their way around my website and obtain the necessary information?
  • Is there relevant information, to which I should provide a link?
• Use short paragraphs. This makes it easier to read and process the information.
• Meaningful captions and headings enable the thematic reference and help to find relevant passages faster. They also draw the user's attention back to the text when scanning.
• With a table of contents including links, specific text passages can also be made accessible more quickly.
• Highlight important text passages or keywords using bold font, for example. However, it should be used sparingly, otherwise the effect will be lost.
• Texts can also be made more understandable and reader-friendly by using enumerations.
• Visual content can make texts less rigid and therefore more attractive. Complex topics can become more comprehensible and easier to grasp through their use.
• Write clearly and comprehensibly. Explain technical terms and foreign words for the general public. Abbreviations and acronyms should always be explained, footnotes can be used.
• Use cross-references sparingly. Hyperlinks are only useful if there is no consistent link back and forth between the respective pages. If you have a large number of links, you should use a link box in WebCMS.
• Translate your texts and make sure you use a uniform style. Information on the regulations at TU Dresden can be found on the page Uniform Use of English Terms in International Presentations.

More information about TU Dresden's Internet presence and its editorial maintenance can be found on the WebCMS help pages.