University of Louisville
2323 S. Brook St.
Louisville, KY 40208
The words on our sites illustrate who we are, what we stand for, how we’re different and why the user should care about UofL. Our content highlights the functional and emotional benefits people attain by attending, supporting, working at, or being involved with the University of Louisville.
In order to ensure a consistent tone and message across our marketing websites, the following basic standards have been created:
Writing for the Web
The style of writing for digital platforms differs considerably from print due to platform differences and user expectations. Content for web pages should be concise and easily scannable.
Web content largely exists to provide purposeful information and users typically have specific subject matter they want to find or tasks they need to complete. As such:
- Use short sentences and break text into short paragraphs for easy scanning.
- Be conversational and upbeat in tone and avoid a bureaucratic or technical voice.
- Put information that is most important to your audience higher up on the page.
- Avoid acronyms or institutional jargon that can alienate unfamiliar users.
- Make good use of headings, subheadings, bulleted/numbered lists.
- Prioritize important information higher up on the page.
- Do not use click here links. Use contextual/embedded links, e.g. Read more about the honors program.
- Assume non-linear navigation. Many users will find a page from a search, not by click-navigation. Page content should be independent and readable regardless of preceding pages in a site.
Resources
- UofL editorial style guide
- Writing for the Web (usability.gov)
- Collection of articles on writing for the web (Nielsen Norman Group)