Writing for the Web

Marquette's University Style Guide (PDF)

Creating publications that share consistent language will move us closer to achieving awareness and recognition of Marquette University. While messages may vary, there are particular constructions, definitions, word choices and usages that should be used consistently across university publications and Web sites to reinforce Marquette's brand identity. In that way, all of our audiences — undergraduate students to adult learners, community partners to alumni — will experience the same message every time they receive communication from Marquette.

Dartmouth's Writing for the Web

"Writing Web documents is different from writing for print, and if you simply move your print documents onto Web pages, you are not using the medium to its best advantage."

Concise, SCANNABLE and Objective: How to Write for the Web

"Studies of how users read on the Web found that they do not actually read: instead, they scan the text. A study of five different writing styles found that a sample Web site scored 58 percent higher in measured usability when it was written concisely, 47 percent higher when the text was scannable, and 27 percent higher when it was written in an objective style instead of the promotional style used in the control condition and many current Web pages. Combining these three changes into a single site that was concise, scannable, and objective at the same time resulted in 124 percent higher measured usability."

Words Drive Action: An Interview with Gerry McGovern

"Gerry is a world-renowned content-management expert and author of the books Content Critical and The Web Content Style Guide. User Interface Engineering's Christine Perfetti and Josh Porter recently talked with Gerry about the importance of an editorial perspective in a Web development process. Here is what Gerry had to say about his experiences.