Writing for web
People read differently on the web than they do on paper. Find out how to write for a digital audience.
On this page
Make it easy to read
In this section
Why it matters
The easier text is to read, the more people can understand and use it.
40% of New Zealand adults have low literacy levels.
If our content is not easy to read, we’re not meeting our audience’s needs.
People with low literacy may struggle to read:
- words with more than 2 syllables
- long sentences
- large amounts of information
- lots of uncommon words
- complex sentence structures
- jargon.
Making content easy to read helps everyone.
Research from Nielsen Norman shows that making content more readable for low-literacy readers helps high-literacy readers understand it too.
There is now a Plain Language Bill in New Zealand, which means that we are legally required to write readable content.
How to write readable content
Good content uses:
- short sentences
- a scannable structure with headings and sub-headings
- simple words.
Readability tools
Use these tools to check if your writing is easy to read:
They'll give your content a ‘reading age’ score. This score tells you how readable your content is.
Aim for a maximum reading age of 12. The lower the reading age, the better.
Every tool works differently. This means their results can vary.
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How to write for the web
In this section
- Take a digital-first approach
- Structure your content well
- Sentences
- Paragraphs
- Front-load your content
- SEO - writing for search engines
Take a digital-first approach
People scan content online. They don’t read word-for-word.
You might also not have their full attention, especially if they’re using a mobile device.
65% of our visitors use their mobiles to access our website. Think about how your content will work on a mobile device. For example, because a mobile screen is much smaller, pages will look much longer than they would on a desktop.
Making your content digital-friendly will make sure it's mobile-friendly, too.
To make your content digital-friendly:
- keep it simple and to the point
- use short paragraphs and titles
- front-load content for easy scanning
- chunk content for easy reading
- break it up with lists and bullet points
- use descriptive headings
- keep media file sizes small.
See advice from GOV.UK on writing well for the web.
Structure your content well
A good content structure:
- helps search engines find our content
- helps visitors scan and find their way through content
- helps visitors complete a task.
Structure your content to make it scannable:
- put the most important information first
- use clear headings and sub-headings
- use bullet points or numbered lists
- put any supporting details near the end.
Sentences
Keep sentences to 25 words or less.
Shorten sentences by:
- breaking them into multiple sentences
- limiting each sentence to one idea
- removing unnecessary words.
Try to use simple sentences with only one verb.
Use active voice, not passive voice.
Yes
Suburban parking fees are increasing from 23 July 2022. See a list of new fees on our Parking Fees page.
No
Parking fees are scheduled to change from 23 July 2022 with increases planned for areas classified as suburban parking zones. Click here to view a list of new fees.
Paragraphs
Keep paragraphs 2 to 3 sentences long.
Express one main idea per paragraph. If your paragraphs are too long, you might be trying to say too much in one place. Consider starting a new paragraph or using a list.
Don’t introduce a new idea in the middle or at the end of a paragraph. Start a new paragraph instead.
Front-load your content
On average, people only read about 20 to 28% of a webpage. When scanning, they focus most on the first few words of headings.
When you write a sentence, paragraph, title, heading, bullet point item or link, ‘front load’ it by putting the most important keywords at the beginning.
Yes
Using resident parking coupons
No
Learn how to use resident parking coupons
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
If you write for your readers, you’re writing for search engines. SEO helps your content to show up on the front page of search results from Google and other search engines.
To make your content SEO-friendly:
- use the language your readers use
- use keywords in titles, headings, sub-headings and meta descriptions (brief summaries of the page that show up in Google results), but do not overdo it, the content must still make sense
- use Google Trends to understand what content your users are searching for.
Meta data
If you have a simple answer to a question, put it in the page's meta description.
Do not include Te reo Māori words in the meta description.