If you’re writing content for the Queen’s University website, use the following guidelines and tips to create effective content that will engage and inform your audiences.  

Structure content like an ‘Inverted Pyramid’  

This writing style prioritises putting the most important information first. Web readers have short attention spans, and they’ll decide whether the page has the information they need in seconds. By putting the important details first, you ensure that readers get essential information right away, followed by supporting content.  

For example, if you were creating an event page, you would put the crucial details such as the time, date and place, at the top of the page followed by the schedule and speakers.  

Break up long sections of text with headers

Headers are used to help users navigate content.  
 
If you have long sections of text, it’s recommended to add headers that clearly describe the content in each paragraph. By breaking up content with headers, you make it easier for users to find the information they’re looking for.  
 
Headers need to be short and direct, be understood out of context and free of university jargon.

Clear language and keep it short

Use short sentences to help communicate your message clearly, web content needs to be to the point with 35-word sentences or less. Limit the use of adverbs and adjectives as this will help keep your sentences short and snappy.  
 
Avoid using jargon, particularly internal jargon. For example, avoid saying ‘domestic students’, when you could say ‘students from Northern Ireland’.  
 
If you’re not sure how to evaluate your own writing, then it can be beneficial to use an online tool, such as Hemingway, to test readability.  
 
If you have longer pieces of text, need to emphasise important information or list information, you could use bulleted or numbered lists to break it up, making it easier for audiences to read.  

Tone of voice

At Queen’s, we want to create a distinctive tone of voice, with values that should be consistent throughout:  

• We should be positive – looking to the future and speaking enthusiastically about Queen’s.
• We should talk about our spirit of innovation – the desire to bring new ideas and experiences to the world. We are pioneers of education and research and the way we talk should reflect this. 
• We should be inspiring. What we say should make an impression on people and be captivating to audiences.
• We should be proud of our academic achievement. Our writing should also communicate how proud we are to have a world-class learning opportunity. 

Active voice 

Use active rather than passive voice as this helps create succinct, direct and reader-friendly sentences:  
 
Active voice: The university awarded scholarships to 50 students this year 
Here, the subject (university) performs the action (awarded), making the sentence clear and direct. 
 
Passive voice: Scholarships were awarded to 50 students by the university this year 
In this version, the subject (university) comes after the action (awarded), making the sentence less direct.

Linking  

When linking to a supporting document, landing page or external web page, ensure that you’re anchoring it to a word or phrase, rather than pasting the link directly into the text. 
 
For example:  

• Correct: Apply for a course  
• Incorrect: Apply for a course here https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/  

Images  

Images can help break up text, making your page easier to read. We recommend having at least one image on each page that is relevant to the text.  

Encourage readers to act  

Think about what the call to action is for your content - maybe you want students to register their interest, browse our courses or apply. Help initiate this action by adding a call to action that is clearly visible and easy to understand.  

Keep it up to date  

If you’re producing content for the web, it’s important to keep it up to date. Outdated web content will confuse readers, which is why it’s important to add to or update the content as often as possible.  

Formatting

When building your webpage with pre-written copy in a document, you need to paste the copy as plain text rather than directly from Word. The underlying code from Word cannot be carried across into the CMS and will cause font and other formatting changes.  
 
We recommend you use the paste as text option (under edit) when copying and pasting from Word or an email to the CMS.