Writing for the Southwark website

Why is writing for the web important?

It’s important we write web content that visitors to our website can easily understand and use to find the information they need.

Web users want to:

• find exactly what they need
• complete tasks easily and quickly
• scroll and read as little as possible
• scan the content

To help them do this, we must make the content relevant, concise, scannable and accessible.

Relevant

We publish only what someone needs to know, so they can complete their task.

Concise

Information that is not necessary should be deleted, leaving only content that is specific, informative and to the point.

Scannable

People do not read web pages word for word. They scan for information that is relevant to them. To help with this, we use subheadings, bullets, paragraph breaks and short sentences.

Accessible

Everyone should be able to access the information on our website. This includes people using assistive technology like screen readers.

User need

People visit our website because they have a need, this is called a ‘user need’.

You find out the user need for your content by creating a story using the below format.

• as a…
• I want to ...
• so that...

Example:
“As a resident I want to know if my property is in an area at risk of flooding so that I can take necessary actions such as...”

For more details on user need, read the Writing user stories guidance on gov.uk.

Language

Website content should be written in plain English, telling users what they need to know to complete their task.

• be friendly and professional
• use 'you' and 'we'
• use a jargon buster
• don’t use promotional language
• keep to one idea per sentence
• explain what every acronym means the first time you use it, unless it is very well known like the NHS
• if writing a large amount of content, break it into short, logical sections using headers
• ask someone to check your text for errors and clarity before submitting or uploading it
• use ‘for example’ instead of ‘e.g.’

Examples of word alternatives

Titles and headings

Titles

Think about how the title will look in search results on the website and on search engines. It’s important that they are unique, relevant and helpful.

• use keywords
• use fewer than 65 characters including spaces 
• begin with the words website visitors use so they can find the page
• make titles active by including a verb for example ‘Apply’ or ‘Find’
• use a colon (:) for long titles: this is to help with scanning
• only use an acronym if it’s a commonly used search term such as NHS or HMRC

Website visitors want a title that can be understood on its own and clearly tells them what they will find on the page. Keep titles clear, descriptive, specific and instructional.

Examples:
“Book summer activities for children under five” not “Find out about summer activities for children under five.”
“Pay your Council Tax bill” not “Paying Council Tax.”

Summary text

Include summaries at the top of each page after the title. Along with the title, the summary is usually what users see in search results. Make sure people can see quickly whether this page has the information they want. Use less than 160 characters including spaces and plain English.

For example: Find out about paid internships available within Southwark Council for young people aged 16 to 24 years old.

Headings

Make sure your subheadings are front-loaded with search terms and make them active, for example: ‘Blue Badge: how to apply’ rather than ‘How to apply for a Blue Badge’

Don’t use:

• phrases like ‘Applying for a license’ (use ‘Apply for a license’)
• questions
• technical terms unless you’ve already explained them
• ‘introductions’, just give users the most important information
• acronyms unless they are commonly used search terms

Main text, links

Main text

You should:

• add the most important information at the start – you can decide what is most important based on user needs
• use the active rather than passive voice, for example ‘complete this form by June’, not ‘this form must be completed by June’
• if writing a large amount of content break it into short, logical sections using headers
• avoid FAQs – they should be already covered within the main content
• avoid block capitals

Sentences should be, on average, around 15 to 20 words long. Some much shorter sentences will help the flow of the text. Like this one.

Paragraphs should have maximum five sentences.

You should:

• use contractions, for example ‘we've’ instead of ‘we have’
• say ‘You can’ rather than ‘You may be able to’
• not use long sentences; check sentences with more than 25 words to see if you can split them to make them clearer
• aim for around three paragraphs per page, topic or section (300 to 500 words)
• have a maximum of five or six paragraphs or sections

Links

• always add a link to written text – do not show the full link on the webpage
• link text should be descriptive, active and specific
• clickable text should make sense out of context for example ‘Find out what you can put in your food waste bin’; don't use generic terms like ‘click here’ or ‘read more’
• email addresses should be linked and shown in full; the link should not include any text other than the email address. For example 'To find out about tennis in Southwark contact sports@southwark.gov.uk'
• make sure the page or service you’re linking to matches the link description you provide
• if you’re using information from another trusted website, such as gov.uk, the NHS website or a trusted listings page, don’t repeat the information by rewriting it; link to that page instead

Capitals, numbers, dates, times

Capitals

When to use common nouns

If you’re writing about something (an object, building, fund, policy theme, place or organisation) in general, use lower case, for example:

• leisure centre turnover
• council staff
• a contractor
• your department
• the minister
• sustainable communities

If you’re referring to a named place, person, organisation or fund that has already been named on the same page, use lower case, for example:

• apply to the fund
• the park is open

When to use proper nouns

When writing the name of a person, place or organisation, their name should be capitalised. For example:

• Dulwich Leisure Centre
• Southwark Council
• The Cost of Living Fund
• Burgess Park
• The Knowledge and Innovation Group
• Minister for Housing
• Home Secretary
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Housing Reform Bill

When using acronyms, write the long version followed by the acronym the first time you include it in the text. For example No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). If the acronym is very well known, like ‘NHS’ or ‘ATM’, you don’t need to add the full version.

Example: government

‘The government’ should be written in lower case when used as a common noun, for example:

“You can influence the decisions government makes by taking part in consultations and petitions.”

If you are referring to a specific government by name it would be written as:

“The UK Government ended the furlough scheme on 30 September 2021.”

Using capitals to make something stand out

Don’t use block capitals or capitals at the start of common nouns. This can be confusing to read. For example, “the UK Government ended the Furlough Scheme” can be confusing as it isn’t clear whether ‘Furlough Scheme’ is the name of a policy or document.

Use formatting or layout to make a piece of information stand out instead.

Numbers

• write out the numbers one to nine (‘three’ not ‘3’)
• write all other numbers in numerals, except where it’s part of a common expression, for example ‘one or two of them’
• if a number starts a sentence, write it out in full except where it starts a title or subheading, for example ‘Thirty-four hula-hoops found in researcher’s filing cupboard’
• for numerals over 999 - insert a comma for clarity, for example ‘It was over 9,000’
• do not abbreviate monetary values, use £20m not £20 million
• spell out common fractions, such as one-half
• use a % sign for percentages, for example 50%
• use ‘500 to 900’ not ‘500–900’, except in tables
• addresses: use ‘to’ in address ranges, for example 49 to 53 Test Street

Dates

• use upper case for months, for example January, February
• don’t use a comma between the month and year, for example 14 June 2012
• don’t use ‘quarter’ for dates; use the months, for example: ‘expenses, January to March 2023’
• use ‘to’ in date ranges

For example:

• tax year 2011 to 2012
• Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
• 10 November to 21 December

Times

Times are written as below:

• 1am
• 6.30pm
• 10am to 5pm not 10am-5pm
• 12 noon or 12 midnight (don’t use 12am and 12pm)

Lists

Lists are excellent for splitting up information so that it’s more easily read and understood.

Begin each bullet with lower case and use a colon before your bulleted list. Make each bullet point a single sentence; use hyphens or commas rather than several sentences.

Don’t end with any punctuation:

• trees
• shrubs
• plants
• flowers

 
Contractions

Use contractions; these are two words made shorter by placing an apostrophe where letters have been omitted.

Avoid using contractions for negative terms like 'can't' or 'don't', and avoid using 'should've', 'could've' and 'would've. These are easy to misread. Use 'cannot', 'do not', 'should have', 'would have' and 'could have' instead. 

Instructions

Don’t be afraid to give instructions - they are useful. Say what ‘to do’ instead of what they ‘should do’. Keep the language brief and informational.

Summary

• create your user need story to make sure your content is appropriate
• add the most important information at the start
• stop, think, plan before you start writing; in a logical order, write a note of the points you want to make.
• use plain English, avoiding jargon and legalistic words
• always explain any technical terms you have to use
• keep your sentence length down to an average of 15 to 25 words
• use active verbs as much as possible for example say ‘we will do it’ rather than ‘it will be done by us’
• keep it relevant, concise, scannable, accessible

Ask someone to proof-read your content before uploading or submitting it, to prevent errors slipping through.

Quick tools to help you

Make sure your page content is accessible for everyone.

Public sector organisations have a legal duty to make sure their websites and mobile app meet accessibility requirements.

Page last updated: 25 January 2024