Keep paragraphs short in any document that is likely to be published on a web site, or read on a computer screen. Try to keep most paragraphs under 65 words. Write no paragraph longer than about 200 words. Vary the...
Blog: Content writing and content strategy insights
Birthday gift: brand new Diploma in Web Content
Today is the second birthday of Contented Enterprises Limited. Alice and I have already established our corporate tradition: we have coffee and cake, we give ourselves major armfuls of flowers from Moore Wilson, I accidentally (?) take home more than...
Plain English Week: demand plain English!
14-18 September 2009 is plainly a great week to draw the world's attention to plain English. On Friday, it's the WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards—always a brilliant occasion. Alice and I will provide four prizes. The winners of the...
Tip: Use exact dates in web content
Today was tomorrow yesterday. A sobering thought... Therefore write timeless (if not deathless) prose in web content. People hunt for clues in content about when it was written. As you write, picture someone reading your web page tomorrow. Or next...
Tip: Avoid the scary semicolon
You can live a rich and satisfying life without ever using a semicolon... even if you are an academic. When writing web content, avoid the semicolon. In theory, it breaks up a long sentence. But in practice, the semicolon clutters...