Writing for the web

Structure your writing so that your audience can quickly understand the purpose of your content. Put the most important information first and make it easy to scan the main points. 

Prepare an outline

Your outline can be a simple overview or very detailed. 

1. List all the content you want to cover
2. Group related content together
3. Put the content into a logical order
4. Move the most important content to the top

4Syllables has a planning guide and template for web writing.

Structure your content

Use these techniques to structure your content for easy scanning.

Emphasise important information

Use an inverted pyramid or "front-loading" technique:

• Use headings and subheadings to divide your content into smaller chunks that are easier to scan
• Put your key message in the first paragraph
• Cover the essential content first and then follow up with additional information
• Start sentences with key words

Useful headings and subheadings

Use heading styles in the correct order. Heading titles should be concise and accurately describe the page, section or paragraph. Don't skip heading levels, as this will affect the accessibility of your content. Read more about web accessibility in section 4.

Paragraphs

Large blocks of text will put off online users. Paragraphs should be short and cover a single topic. 

Lists

Lists are easy to scan and often require fewer words. Use:

• numbered lists for steps
• bulleted lists for important series of information or items.

Try not to repeat words at the start of each list item. This makes the list harder to scan. Consider this example:

---