Put the most important information at the top
Writing for the web is like composing a poem — you’re trying to convey as much as possible within the short space of a few words and sentences. Research shows users tend to scan webpages and will read at most 28 percent of the words on a page. Since the typical user only stays on the page for seconds, answer the most basic questions (the who, what, where, when, why and how) right out of the gate and include a call to action, if possible.

Cut the fluff
Less is more when it comes to website copy. Cut the fluff, and ask yourself, “Does this add to the website page? Is it really necessary?” Easy words to eliminate are “that” and “just,” along with adverbs, adjectives and prepositions.

Use headers, bullet points and links
One great way to break up long blocks of text is to use headers and bullet points. They make it easier for readers to scan the page and find the content that’s most relevant to them. Supporting links also help highlight keywords for the user who’s skimming a page.

Search engine optimization
It’s important to keep search engine optimization, or SEO, in mind when writing website copy. Most web traffic is organic, meaning a user typically will find your website through a Google search. Think about the keywords — the words and phrases used in a search box — that would be used to find your website. Content that includes keywords likely will be rewarded with better search engine rankings. Read Moz’s “On-site Optimization” article for more about SEO.

Be selective about your website’s menu
Avoid giving your user too many choices. The website menu, or top navigation, is often the first place that becomes crowded with links. The more choices you offer a user in the menu, the more overwhelmed they may feel navigating around your website. Keep it simple, and highlight the pages that a user will need to know the most about in coming to your website. Generally speaking, this will be your about, event, product and resource pages.

Create interest with multimedia
Think about where you can use photos, videos, graphics and icons to visually communicate your content instead of through text. Also, be descriptive when writing alt text for your images. Alt text helps describe images for visitors unable to see them.

Think responsive
Design your website not just for the desktop experience, but mobile and tablet as well. Test out how your pages look on different devices, and optimize your images so that it’s not difficult to tell what it is when it’s viewed on a smartphone. Remember that your content won’t look the same across different devices and will shift in its design and layout. Siteimprove is a quality assurance and analytics software that you can use for free to learn which devices, browsers, and operating systems are most popular with your website audience.

Evergreen content on landing pages
Generally speaking, the content that’s featured on your landing pages should be evergreen. Do think about ways to improve each landing page based on analytics every quarter and optimizing your content for SEO and accessibility, but don’t feel a need to constantly update the pages by adding more text, video and photos. Increase traffic to your website by implementing digital marketing campaigns through social media, email and more.

Online Strategy’s Virtual Office Hours
GW’s Online Strategy team hosts virtual office hours daily. Visit their website to book an appointment.

Google Analytics

For websites, it’s important to continually track how your landing pages are performing to determine if your content is helpful for the user. Consider collecting analytics every month for your website to develop a well-rounded picture of when users are coming to your website, how long they are staying and which pages are most popular. Make sure to share these monthly reports with your team so they’re aware as well.

New to Google Analytics? Learn more about the platform by taking free courses offered through Google.

Siteimprove Analytics

You can also use Siteimprove to measure analytics on user traffic on your website: which pages are most popular, how long users stay on your site, how they get to your website, demographic information and more. With this data, you’ll be able to develop a digital strategy that best serves your organization’s goals.

SiteImprove is available to anyone at GW who manages a website: request Siteimprove access. Once you’ve created your account, you’ll also have access to SiteImprove’s online training academy. 

Check out our Flickr album! We regularly upload photos of events held at the school, along with campus and D.C. snapshots. You can also access the GW University photo bank.

Other free-for-use, stock photography websites include:

• Pexels.com
• Pixabay.com
• Unsplash.com

Be sure to always check the photo permissions on each image.

GW faculty, staff and students have access to Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, PremierePro, Adobe Spark and more.

If you’re unfamiliar with these tools, we also recommend using Canva for all your design needs.

Submit a website edit request through our online form.

Sure! We recommend checking out CampusPress Support & Knowledgebase and the GW Blogs training website. Marketing and Creative Services also provides office hours and workshops.

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is all about formatting your content so it’s easier to find for your users who are looking for it.

Most web traffic is organic, meaning a user typically will find your website through a Google search. Think about the keywords — the words and phrases used in a search box — that would be used to find your website. Content that includes keywords likely will be rewarded with better search engine rankings. Read Moz’s “On-site Optimization” article for more about SEO.