Write Well On The Web

How People Read/
Remember

Scannable Writing/
Sentences & Paragraphs

Headlines,Sub-heads, Links

Language and Credibility

Conclusions/Sources

 

Elements of Information
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Language On The Web

When writing good hypertext, it’s also important to consider how language is used. While English is spoken widely across the world and most web pages are in English, not all English words have the same meaning in different cultures. For example, in Great Britain, the act of standing in line is called forming a queue or "queueing up." A few guidelines that should be followed when considering language include:

 

  • avoiding slang
  • when referring to money or listing a price, indicate the currency used
  • when referring to amount or measurements, list the conversion or link to a site that indicates the conversion

    More nformation about writing for an international audience is found on this site under "Web Design and Localization"


    Credibility


    Just as in print, most readers want to know the source of the information, so citing where the information comes from adds to the credibility of the writing and the site. High-quality graphics, good writing, and the use of outbound hypertext links can increase credibility. (Nielsen '97) Specifically state the source or link to relevant pages that contain information you are quoting (i.e. quote newspaper articles).

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