Web Style Guide

Or, How to Write for the Small Screen

People don't want to plow through screen after screen of copy to get to the one piece of information they need about your chapter. In order to consistently write more effective Web copy, keep these rules in mind:

• Keep the content fresh. There’s nothing worse than a Web site with obviously out-of-date information. If you keep your Web pages fresh, you'll get repeat visitors and will prove that your chapter is a credible, conscientious organization.
• Put content first, technology second. Don't use Flash animation for its own sake! Make sure that the technology you use on the Web aids your customers.
• Write tight copy. People reading online are impatient — they want to get straight to the point. Bullet points and 15- to 20-word sentences work best. Paragraphs should be no longer than 70 words.
• Make sure there's an easy way to contact you. Don't make chapter members (or potential chapter members!) search for your e-mail or phone number. Make it easy for people to contact you by keeping the contact information section on your Web pages current.
• Summarize.
• Be consistent with font size and color. A jumble of different letter sizes and colors is distracting and hard to read.
• Don’t overload on graphics. In general, be conservative with Web graphics, and use them sparingly. Even users with high-speed connections appreciate a fast-loading page.
• Use appropriate photo types. Web images should be in a high-quality format, such as .tif or .jpg. Black-and-white photos on the Web easily lose their contrast and sharpness.
• Keep backgrounds clean. Don't use colored, textured or graphic backgrounds unless absolutely necessary. They’re distracting and they really do make text hard to read. Also, they may look fine in your browser, but could end up looking quite different in someone else’s.
• Skip the blinking images. Don’t blink anything unless it’s to indicate an emergency, such as a lif