Writing for the Web

Cambridge Web Development can give you a good framework for your website, but that is worth nothing if you do not provide the content to fill it out. This is a short guide in order to help clients write effectively.

I highly recommend reading Steve Krug's book 'Don't Make Me Think!', which gives useful tips about how people tend to use the web.

What's Special About the Web?

Nothing. Which means that you are going to need to spend as much effort on generating the material for your website as you would spend writing for paper publications.

It Takes Time

To write good content takes a lot of time. Consider it similar to writing a book about every aspect of your organisation. Do not underestimate the amount of work or the number of people who are likely to need to be involved.

Say Something Controversial

If you don't say anything people might disagree with, you haven't really said anything. Phrases like "be the best" and "succeed on all levels" say nothing. Prioritise your values. At Cambridge Web Development, we prioritise usability and accessibility over design and animation. Some people will like that choice, others not, but the majority will prefer it to a company which claims to do everything.

Get to the Point

"Welcome to our website." "Welcome to Fred's section". If you want a good way to get a visitor to start skimming the content on your website instead of reading it, this is probably it. Every sentence should make a point. If there isn't a point, remove the sentence.