This is the summary. The most important component of our website is content.
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When writing for the web, using plain language allows users to find what they need, understand what they have found, and then use it to meet their needs.
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The Seven C's of content quality
James Mathewson identifies seven features that will help you to write readable and engaging content.
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Client-centric: quality content is not about what you want to write. It’s about what your audience need to read.
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Compelling: Web users typically scan the page and only read if they see words that are obviously relevant to them.
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Credible: Everything you write needs to have solid evidence behind it.
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Concise: Give web users the information they need in the smallest possible time.
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Clear: Clarity is also in the eye of the beholder. And that’s really the most important point.
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Conversational: On the web, nothing turns an audience off faster than writing that sounds mechanical.
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Clean: Make sure your proofread, and have someone else proofread for you before you publish.
Read about the steps to develop content [Add an anchor link]
Structuring content
Download UX Myths poster (PDF, 668KB) [Upload PDF]
When designing your content, keep the following in mind:
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have a clearly defined goal for each page.
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be clear and succinct, no repetition.
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break up big chunks of text by using short paragraphs and adding headings and sub-headings to enhance scanability.
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ensure keywords are in the headings and main text.
If you learn your audience’s needs and pain points, you have a chance of creating high-quality content for them.
James Mathewson
Bachelor of Communication
Content development process
The following process can be applied where content development is being undertaken for the UTS web.
Step 1: Content and audience identification
Identify the information that is required and the purpose for publishing it.
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Ensure that the information has not been published elsewhere on the UTS web.
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Identify who the audience/s are, and their particular needs.
Step 2: Publication and ongoing maintenance
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Determine and document ongoing maintenance requirements.
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Publish content.
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Maintain content, and undertake regular quality assurance checks.
Accessibility
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 we are legally required to ensure that people with disability have the same fundamental rights to access information as the rest of the community.
Images
The alt text is used to replace the element whenever it can't be seen or displayed on screen.
Important: Check the copyright of your image and attribute accordingly.
[Add new image]
Image sizes
[Insert existing image: building 7 stairs / size: 250px / align left]
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Generic: maximum size allowed. Upload images that are at least 1640 pixels wide
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250px: Good for decorative shots. Upload images that are at least 500 pixels wide
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150px: Good for individual headshots. Upload images that are at least 300 pixels wide
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50px: Good for icons such as social media. Upload images that are at least 100 pixels wide.
Videos
Multimedia files only be published on the UTS website if they are accompanied by a transcript.
[Add existing video: stay safe at uts]
Questions? – style this box
If you have questions about using Drupal or want to know more about web guidelines, visit our Managing online content site on Staff Connect (login required) or contact us at webspeshies@uts.edu.au