1. Writing for the Web Monday 22 June 2010 Presenter: Jon Matthias
Communications – 21 May 2010

2. Five things
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

3. Five things what people use the web for how people navigate websites
what hooks people to read your website
what helps people read your website
why you need to write for a robot
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

4. What do people use the web for?
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

5. “People surf the web like hungry animals foraging for food.”
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

6. Food = information
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

7. Web users... ... have short attention spans.
... know there is information out there and plenty of places to get it.
... get frustrated easily.
... rarely re-visit ‘unhelpful’ sites.
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

8. Linear content Contents Chapter 1 – How it all began
Chapter 2 – What happened next
Chapter 3 – And then this happened...
Chapter 56 – A happy ending!
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

9. Non-linear content
“to fight the evil mountain goblin, turn to page 13, to run away as fast as possible, turn to page 46, to pray to your chosen deity for deliverance, turn to page 84”
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

10. Forget the first page The first SCREEN is vital – not the first PAGE
Think ‘above the fold’
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

11. This means 2 things Your headline is vital
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

12. This means 2 things Your headline is vital
Your first paragraph is crucial
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

13. Your headline is vital Google looks for headlines
People use them to decide whether this information is worth reading
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

14. Good headlines… Are relevant Summarise the story Give information
Compel people to read
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

15. Tips for headlines Figures / statistics Buzzwords / search terms
Summarise – make it clear what the story is about
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

16. The first paragraph Crucial for two reasons: appears in search results
the only bit guaranteed to be scan-read
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

17. The inverted pyramid
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

18. The traditional pyramid
Bill went into hospital and developed a pressure ulcer
He was in hospital for 3 months
Pressure ulcers cost NHS Wales £150m a year
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

19. The diamond Bill went into hospital and developed a pressure ulcer
He was in hospital for 3 months
Pressure ulcers cost NHS Wales £150m a year
Bill has made a full recovery and is supporting the initiative on pressure ulcers
Communications – 21 May 2010

20. The inverted pyramid Pressure ulcers cost NHS Wales £150m a year
There are ways we can stop them happening
Bill’s story
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

22. The first paragraph
“Pressure ulcers are common, devastating to patients, can kill, place an enormous financial burden on the NHS - and yet are nearly all avoidable.”
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

23. Helping people read Make your writing scannable
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

24. Helping people read Make your writing scannable Chunkify your writing
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

25. Helping people read
Make your writing scannable Chunkify your writing Break it up with - subheadings - bullet points / lists - bolding key points
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

26. Helping people read Short sentences (less than 17 words if possible)
Short paragraphs (one or two sentences)
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

27. Writing for a robot
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

28. Writing for a robot
Google Has a reading age of a 3 year old ... Doesn’t get puns ... Can’t search PDFs
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias

29. Any questions? Jon.Matthias@wales.nhs.uk www.twitter.com/1000LivesPlus
Writing for the Web – Jon Matthias