Web Communications
The Office of Marketing & Communications leads web communication and digital strategy for the University of Michigan-Flint. We manage the university’s website and help campus units share their stories and strengthen the UM-Flint brand online.
Writing for the Web
When you write for the web, write for the reader. Before you publish anything, ask yourself: If I landed on this page, would I find what I need right away? People rarely read web pages word-for-word. They skim, scan, and hunt for answers, so clarity and structure aren’t optional; they’re what make your content usable.
Best Practices for Web Writing
- Lead with what matters most.
- Put your key information at the top of the page. Readers scan first and commit to reading only once they’re confident the page is worth their time, so give them a reason to stay in the first few lines.
- Use headings to guide the reader.
- Headings work like signposts. They break your content into scannable sections and help people jump straight to the part they came for.
- Keep it short and scannable.
- Favor short paragraphs and bulleted lists, and lead each bullet with the keyword that carries the meaning. Tight, well-organized text is far easier to digest than dense blocks of copy.
- Write meaningful link text.
- A link should make sense on its own, without the surrounding sentence. Skip vague labels like “click here” and instead describe where the link goes, such as “download the enrollment checklist.”
- Use plain, familiar language.
- Choose everyday words your audience already knows. Avoid jargon, acronyms, and insider terms that leave readers guessing.
- Give every page context.
- Visitors often arrive on an interior page directly from a search engine, so each page needs to stand on its own. Rather than linking to a bare PDF, for example, explain what it contains and who it’s for.
- Stay consistent.
- Keep your formatting, style, and tone uniform across the site. Readers value clarity over cleverness and trust a predictable, consistent experience.
Contact Information
The Inverted Pyramid of Five W’s
The Inverted Pyramid is a style of writing often associated with news stories. In this style, the first sentence is the most important, providing a summary of the entire article.
Writing for the web should be the same. The most important information should be at the top of the page, followed by supporting information, including the five Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why). The supporting information should be in the middle of the page, and the least important information should be at the bottom.