1.6 The way the information is written

Writing for the Web is different to writing for a printed document. People scan Web pages quickly to obtain information, rather than settling down for a long read.

Information should be kept up to date:

• include date written and date updated;
  
  
• for information that does not change rapidly, include a regular review date, for example, yearly;
  
  
• the home page must contain a last modified / updated date.

Information should be balanced:

• discussing different sides of an issue;
  
  
• not sensational;
  
  
• with no extreme statements or extravagant claims.

Information should be simply and correctly written:

• simple and easy to understand;
  
  
• no medical jargon;
  
  
• with explanations of medical terms, by providing a glossary, and a link to an on-line medical dictionary, for example:
  (a) On-line Medical Dictionary, produced by the CancerWEB project (http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/omd/) [Opens in new browser window];
  
  
• with correct grammar and spelling.

Information should be kept short:

• keeping the amount of text on a Web page short;
  
  
• using short, simple sentences;
  
  
• using bullet points to break up the text, and show key points.
  

If you want to make larger documents available, e.g. newsletters, leaflets, annual reports, put them in PDF or word-processed format with a link to the document from the Web site.

• Check the final version of the document with an anti-virus programme. There are many products available, for example:
  (a) McAfee VirusScan (http://uk.mcafee.com/) [Opens in new browser window];
  (b) Norton AntiVirus (http://www.symantec.com) [Opens in new browser window].
  
  
• Tell the user the format of the document and how large it is.
  
  
• Include a summary of the content of the document on the Web site.
  
  
• For PDF files, give a link to the ADOBE site for users to obtain the free reader software (http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readstep2.html link) [Opens in new browser window].

Some organisations give guidance on how to produce readable, accessible information, for example:

• Plain English Campaign (http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/) [Opens in new browser window];
  
  
• National Information Forum (http://www.nif.org.uk/) [Opens in new browser window].
  

< previous page: funding  |  next page: non-English >

© Copyright for this site is held by Contact a Family and the Information Society Research and Consultancy Group, School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, Northumbria University. Site published February 2003. Last updated October 2006. Review date October 2007.