Writing tip: Editing web content

Deep in the Diploma of Web Content lies a nifty little course on Editing Web Content. This one is crucial, because research shows that editing content correctly can double the usability of a web site.

Editing is always a step-by-step process. And always you start by asking the big questions, such as:

• Is this web page really necessary?
• What is this page for? 
• Who needs it?
• Is the same information on another page?
• What do you want people to do after reading this page?

At work when the pressure’s on, what do you do? You apply the 80:20 principle: you skip to a simple Contented system that will fix the majority of problems very fast.

Usability rockets when you focus on four actions with maximum impact:

1. Edit headlines
2. Edit the first sentence into a summary
3. Edit hyperlink-text
4. Edit all text into plain language.

In the Editing Web Content course you’ll see these four skills in action, with plenty of before-and-after examples. Provided you have completed the other courses in the Diploma in Web Content, hey presto! Everything makes sense. You’ll instantly see what to do, and you can expect to make an immediate impact on sub-standard web content.

Sometimes you need to apply more rigorous quality testing. Then you’ll use our 10 brilliant QA tests, which are demonstrated in the same course.

Editing Web Content is part of the Diploma in Web Content