Nix the jargon

The web is for everyone—not just technical experts. So make sure information is understandable for the educated non-specialist. Spell out acronyms on first reference. Avoid insider language. Explain complex or niche terms. And provide hyperlinks to other articles where readers can get more background information on a particular topic.

Consider this sentence:

The journalist grabbed a SOT from the MOS, drove back to the station and put the story in the can.

Many of these terms are comprehensible only to broadcast journalists. A reader-friendly revision would be:

The journalist interviewed a bystander about the incident, and recorded her statement to include in the story.

This tip is especially important if you work in a technical industry, but want your website to attract non-expert customers. Remember that you need to write for your audience (see point #1) and not for your colleagues. Using accessible language will help you come across as approachable and open—just what you want to convey to future customers.

Make text scannable

In addition to putting the most important information up top, make sure text is easy to skim. Most web readers will scan the page to find the specific piece of information they’re looking for—if they don’t find it easily, they’ll move on.

Don’t believe it? Try paying attention the next time you open a webpage you haven’t seen before. Are you reading every word beginning to end? Or is your eye jumping around, looking for the information you want?

· Instead of text-heavy paragraphs, use bulleted or numerical lists. Instead of one long page of text, organize content into labeled tabs.

· Always include “white space.” This is the empty space that surrounds paragraphs, images, and other elements on your web page. Though it may seem like this is just wasted space, it’s actually a web designer’s best friend. Comfortable amounts of white space around text make it more legible, and more enjoyable to read.

· It’s also important to divide content into sections with descriptive sub-headers. For example, a webpage about climate change might “chunk” information under the following headings:

Ø What Is Climate Change?

Ø Drivers of Climate Change

Ø Current and Projected Impacts of Climate Change

Ø Solutions to Reduce Emissions

Ø Learn More

These sub-headers not only help readers navigate the page, they’ll help search engines find your content. To try this on your own site, use the Heading element. Use one H1 (Large) Heading at the top of each page, use H2 (Medium) Headings to separate your main content, and use smaller H3 Headings for any minor points underneath your H2s.