Our one day course looks at how people actually read copy online, and how you need to prepare, write and edit your copy to meet that reality. It is editorial rather than technical in emphasis, with the aim of teaching trainees the basic principles and techniques involved in getting text right for an online environment. Each course combines a selection of the following elements:
- Reading the Web: the user's experience
How exactly do people read on the Web? What are the differences between online and offline consumption of text? From an understanding of these issues, we can start to piece together a strategy for writing Web copy that works. - Knowing your users
This unit looks in more detail at who your website's users actually are, and examines the implications of this knowledge in preparing copy for them, especially in terms of style and tone. This unit can also cover preparing and working to style sheets, brand guidelines and so on. - Writing for your users
Once we have established who your users are and how they actually read text online, we turn to the basic principles and techniques of producing targeted, relevant copy in an online environment. Inverted pyramids, menus, 'nut graphs', chunking down copy, sentence and paragraph structure, creating self-contained copy units, the website as a textual prism rather than a linear narrative etc. - Editorial formats
Creating compelling, attention-grabbing editorial structures is central to the process of creating effective Web copy. This unit could also look at the kinds of writing formats trainees use on a daily basis and how to get the most from them. - The art of 'webifying'
Often websites face the task of repurposing or 'webifying' copy - that is, taking existing offline copy (produced, say, for a magazine or brochure) and turning it into text that is accessible online. With exercises and examples. - Writing and editing skills
A series of exercises and techniques aimed at extending trainees' ability to write and edit clear, jargon-free, user-friendly, brand-focused prose. Eg writing economically - eliminating redundancies; using the active rather than the passive voice; commonly misused words; composing attention-grabbing heads, sells and promo paras. These exercises can be made bespoke, using live content from clients' sites.
