People absorb information differently in digital spaces than in print. Website users rarely read web content word-for-word, so it needs to grab readers’ attention quickly.
Generally, people want to find information as quickly as possible, scanning pages initially, looking for words and phrases that mean something to them. When it comes to reading on desktops, laptops, tablets and mobiles, concise content is better, and generally speaking, less is more when writing for digital.
People read 25% slower onscreen*, so usability experts recommend writing 50% less text than you would have used in a print document. 300-700 words is often enough. 1
Online copy should be:
- Straight to the point
- Relevant
- Actionable
- Clear and concise
Top tips for writing for web
We've pulled together some tips for writing and creating for web.
- Write content in bite-size chunks, avoiding large blocks of text.
- Use bulleted lists and headlines to make pages scannable.
- Aim for ‘instant understanding first time round’.
- Break up text with images or rich media where relevant.
For task driven content, the intention is to reduce the amount of time needed for the user to get all the information they need. For instance, encouraging users to complete a sign-up, understand product information, or take action in a clear, concise and consistent way.
- Web readers use headers like road signs to find the information they want. Well-written headlines act as the informal outline of a page, allowing users to easily navigate to the information that’s most relevant to them.
- Use clear and interesting sub-headings frequently to keep users moving down the page.
- Focus on one topic or idea per paragraph to help the reader digest and remember information.
- Make paragraphs one to three sentences long.
- Put the most important information first. Catch the reader’s attention in the first few words and start with the conclusion.
- Keep it short and simple. Each element within a communication piece should have an explicit reason for being there.
- Be succinct. Shorter, concise sentences are best.
- Generally, keep articles and web pages short where possible. If creating editorial or long-form content, ensure you still use short sentences, small paragraphs, and clear headings.
- Sometimes a comprehensive amount of information will meet users’ needs better than a short answer.
- Examples of when to use long-form content include:
- Answering complex questions
- Giving customers a deep insight into a topic
- To tell a story with online editorial style content, for instance, customer or adviser experiences.
Some examples of the above can be seen here: example 1, example 2.
Long-form content on web pages can be beneficial for SEO, but best practice principles should still be followed to drive engagement. Content should still be broken up into bite-size chunks and written using concise sentences. Anchor links can also aid content navigation in long-form guides..
Tone of Voice
Writing is branding. How we sound in communications forms a key part of our brand identity. We want to be seen as ‘expert’ and ‘caring’ and these values need to be reflected in how we look and behave, and also how we speak – our brand tone of voice.
The below guidance acts as a quick summary but isn’t a replacement for reading the main tone of voice guidelines.
General tips
Use everyday language:
- Use simpler, everyday words. For instance: ‘try’ instead of ‘endeavour’ or ‘use’ instead of ‘utilise’.
- Write in plain English that avoids regional UK words (unless you’re doing this for a targeting reason), metaphors, or colloquialisms.
- Stay away from business speak, stock phrases or boastful adjectives. Avoid expressions that say nothing, such as: ‘as to whether’, ‘the fact that’, and intensifiers and qualifiers like ‘really’, ‘very’, ‘absolutely’, ‘totally’, ‘rather’.
Be conversational but still professional:
- Adress the reader as ‘you’ or ‘your; to make our writing seem more personal.
- In most cases, refer to Aegon as ‘we’, ‘use’ and ‘our’, rather than ‘Aegon’ or ‘the company’. There’s an exception to this rule that you can apply when appropriate. Sometimes, referring to us as people too (for example when delivering messages that could be seen as preachy) works well.
- Use contractions most of the time, such as, ‘it’s’ and ‘won’t’, but not contractions that sound awkward, such as ‘we’d’. For a list of contractions that we use and don’t use, see our TOV guidelines.
Writing for our audiences
- The key thing to remember is to use everyday language, avoid fussy phrases and explain technical terms – but ideally anything technical for customers should be used sparingly as we don’t want to overwhelm them.
- We want to be seen as friendly, approachable and easy to talk to.
- Our supportive tone allows us to speak in a warm and direct way to our different audiences. And for customers, this is where you should bring that warmth into your copy the most. Do this by using active and positive language and don’t try to scare people into taking action or start with a negative.
- We’re still friendly and approachable to adviser groups, but we tend to stay on the professional side in recognition of them being industry experts.
- We don’t want to come across as patronising when communicating with them – so try to avoid over explaining and instead be direct.
- We can be more technical in our communications. This doesn’t mean you should start automatically introducing more complex language or make sentences really long, especially for online content. Technical articles should always be on brand.
- We don’t always need to spell out acronyms for advisers, though if in doubt, please do so.
- The tone for employers is somewhere in between that of our customer and adviser voice.
- Depending on the employer you’re communicating with, you can flex up or down the scale depending on their financial knowledge. Take care – as a primarily B2B business, we never descend into being chatty of over-familiar.
- Be clear on the information you’re providing and avoid over explaining.
1Why Web Users Scan Instead of Reading, Jakob Nielson, Nielson Norman Group.