Website Style Guide:
Chapter 2: Content and Writing Style

Sentence Structure | Language | Planning for New Content |
Web Content Versus Print Content | Forms | Style Guide Home

2.1 Sentence Structure

Make sentences and paragraphs as short as possible without affecting their meaning. Long, run-on sentences disrupt the flow of the website. Generally speaking, a sentence should not exceed twenty words and a paragraph should not exceed six sentences.

Use active voice rather than passive voice. Sentences written in the active voice are more concise and easier for visitors to understand.

Lists written in bulleted format where the bullet points form complete sentences should use capital letters at the beginning of the sentence and appropriate punctuation at the end.

Example:

• Officials from the Division of Aging and Adult Services described some of the division’s services, noting that:
• Health Support Services officials are available to help people and their families recognize and understand health problems.
• At-Risk Case Management services include assessing and reassessing the service needs of clients.

Bulleted lists where the bullet points are words or phrases should use capital letters at the beginning of each bullet, no other capitals except for proper names, and no punctuation at the end.

Lists where bullet points are sentence fragments should use uppercase letters at the beginning of each point and should only include punctuation at the end of the entire list.

Example:

Case management services are provided by staff from County Departments of Social Services or Area Mental Health Agencies. Activities include:

• Verifying the need for enhanced adult care home personal care
• Assuring the adult care home’s plan corresponds to the needs of the resident
• Reviewing the provision of care to assure changes in the resident’s conditions are being addressed
• Determining the need for other community-based services
• Assisting the resident and the adult care home in accessing other needed services.

When listing within a body of text, commas should appear after every item in the series, unless the word is followed by the word “and.”

Example:

• Bald eagles, ospreys, herons, mergansers and kingfishers are native to this area.

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2.2 Language

Use plain language. Plain language is communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it. Written material is in plain language if your audience can:

• Find what they need
• Understand what they find
• Use what they find to meet their needs

There are many writing techniques that can help you achieve this goal. Among the most common are:

• Logical organization with the reader in mind
• "You" and other pronouns
• Active voice
• Short sentences
• Common, everyday words
• Easy-to-read design features

Examples:

Before

Investigators at the contractor will review the facts in your case and decide the most appropriate course of action. The first step taken with most Medicare health care providers is to reeducate them about Medicare regulations and policies. If the practice continues, the contractor may conduct special audits of the provider’s medical records. Often, the contractor recovers overpayments to health care providers this way. If there is sufficient evidence to show that the provider is consistently violating Medicare policies, the contractor will document the violations and ask the Office of the Inspector General to prosecute the case. This can lead to expulsion from the Medicare program, civil monetary penalties, and imprisonment.

After

We will take two steps to look at this matter: We will find out if it was an error or fraud.

We will let you know the result.

Before

Title I of the CARE Act creates a program of formula and supplemental competitive grants to help metropolitan areas with 2,000 or more reported AIDS cases meet emergency care needs of low-income HIV patients. Title II of the Ryan White Act provides formula grants to States and territories for operation of HIV service consortia in the localities most affected by the epidemic, provision of home and community -based care, continuation of insurance coverage for persons with HIV infection, and treatments that prolong life and prevent serious deterioration of health. Up to 10 percent of the funds for this program can be used to support Special Projects of National Significance.

After

Low income people living with HIV/AIDS gain, literally, years, through the advanced drug treatments and ongoing care supported by HRSA’s Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act.

Avoid the use of acronyms and abbreviations as much as possible. Also try to avoid the use of technical jargon, as many readers may not know what the jargon means. When it is absolutely necessary to use an acronym, an abbreviation, or technical jargon, make sure that you define the term for the reader.

All content written for the general public of North Carolina should be between a 7 and an 8 on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Reading Scale. Content written for other specialized audiences such as health care providers may have a higher reading level. See Section 2.2.1 for information on checking reading levels.

Always write instructions in the affirmative. Tell visitors to do something, rather than telling them not to do something else.

Avoid the use of metaphors and other figurative language, as some site visitors might take what you say literally.

Site visitors expect web content to be less formal than print content. Try to use a tone that is informal while still maintaining professionalism. This means that content may use the first person when speaking of the department (we or us) and use the second person when referring to the reader, when it is appropriate and not awkward to do so.

Examples:

• Find out how DHHS can serve you. We protect health, foster self-reliance and protect the vulnerable in numerous ways.
• To apply for food stamps, go to your county Department of Social Services.

Not:

• To apply for food stamps, one should go to the appropriate County Department of Social Services

Organize all content into related pages and subsections. Use detailed headings to help visitors navigate.

Avoid the use of weak pronouns like “this,” “these” or “they,” as the reader might not be able to determine what you are referring to. Also avoid relative terms like “here” or “now.” Not every site visitor knows when and where you are writing the content.

2.2.1 How to Check the Reading Level of Your Document

To check the grade level of your content, open the document in Microsoft Word.

1. On the “Tools” menu, select “Options,” then select “Spelling and Grammar.”
2. Select the “Spelling and Grammar” box.
3. Select “Show readability statistics,’’ then choose “OK”.

Word will now provide you with readability statistics every time you run a Spelling and Grammar check.

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2.3 Planning New Content

People come to a website with a specific task in mind. If our website doesn’t help them complete that task, they’ll leave.

Focus on critical tasks. A critical task is any action that:

• A large number of people need to complete online
• Is essential for people to accomplish quickly and easily.

Identify the mission—the purpose—of your website, to help you clarify the top task your website should help people accomplish.

No website should have “coming soon” or “under construction” pages. If the information does not exist yet, then do not create the page.

Avoid publishing redundant content. If the content you are about to publish is already available somewhere else in the website, simply supply a link to the page where it can be found. Having duplicate pages also increases the potential for outdated content, as one of the pages will most likely be updated regularly, while the other pages are left untouched.

Update content regularly. Date stamps should appear at the bottom of every page. Visitors will be less likely to visit your site if they think that nobody is taking the time to update it. Have a schedule of regular updates for all content. Keep a detailed inventory of all the pages that are added. You won’t be able to update a page if you forget that it exists.

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2.4 Web Content Versus Print Content

Make each page independent of other pages. Unlike a book, magazine, or other print publications, websites do not move in a sequential order from beginning to end. A site visitor can enter a page on your site without having seen any of the other pages, so you should never publish content that assumes the visitor has read content on other pages.

Be as concise as possible. It takes a someone longer to read the same amount of content on a computer screen than it would on a printed page, and visitors may lose patience if you take too long to say what you want to say. Web documents should not be any longer than 1,000 words, as visitors will begin to lost patience with anything longer. A good rule is that if you can take out a word without changing the sentence’s meaning, then you should.

Unlike articles written for the print media, web articles should not use indirect introductions. Some common indirect introductions are:

The Anecdote: When a writer starts a piece off by telling a story that is not directly related to the subject of the piece. (“It was a hot summer day back in 2001 when Ramon Martinez arrived in America for the first time.”),

The Barrage of Information: When a writer starts a piece with a series of facts that may be unrelated to the subject of the piece. (“Naperville is a small city just outside Chicago, well known for its bustling, high-tech economy.”)

The Personal Introduction: When the writer gives information about his or herself that the reader will most likely not be interested in. This includes writers who try to share their qualifications to write on the subject. These are important to include, but should come after the article rather than during it. (“My name is Ralph, and I have been an avid collector of model train sets for three years now.”)

The best way to begin an article written for the web is to directly discuss the topic at hand. Try to begin each page with the most direct, concise statement possible.

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2.5 Forms

(These guidelines were one outcome of the Government Content Team for the website redesign project, a cross-department advisory group.)

2.5.1 Placement of Forms on the Web

All online forms in the department should be placed on the Online Publications site. The department should not have pockets of forms scattered across numerous websites.

2.5.2 Quality Control of Forms on the Web

The quality control of forms in the department occurs at the division or office level. Some divisions may also delegate this function to the section level. This should be a formal process that ensures the following:

• The latest paper copy of the form is the version that is on the web.
• The form is designed for clarity.
• It contains a unique name that clearly identifies its purpose.
• It has an assigned number and revision date in either the bottom right or bottom left corner.
• The assigned number should have the division acronym and perhaps the section acronym, according a numbering system the division devises.
• If it is not apparent on the form that it is a North Carolina DHHS form, “NCDHHS” should be placed somewhere in the footer near the form number and revision date. (For divisions with a widely understood acronym, such as DSS, this requirement may not be needed.)
• For divisions that have generic names that could apply to any department (e.g., Controller’s Office, Budget and Analysis, etc), the name of the department should be spelled out somewhere in the header or title.

For current forms that already have a number, no immediate action is recommended regarding the above items until the form is scheduled to be revised. For forms that are currently unnumbered, it is recommended that they be assigned a number as soon as practicable.

• For forms translated into Spanish, it is recommended that they have the same number as the English version, with “sp” added at the end of it.
• It is recommended that each division maintain a centralized list where form names are recorded, numbers are assigned, and the applicable section is noted. This is recommended even if the QC function resides in the section.
• For Spanish forms, it is recommended that the footer information remain in English.
• For forms that are interactive, another level of QC should occur to ensure that the interactivity was incorporated correctly (see file format recommendations above).

2.5.3 Possible Footer Formats for Forms

Use type that is no smaller than 5 point. Information can be right or left justified, on one line or multiple.

Minimal Required Information:

DMA 1820 (Rev.5/05) NCDHHS

Add the section name:

DSS 1820 (Rev.5/05) NCDHHS: Children’s Services

Add the file name and location:

DFS-3032 (Rev.5/05) MHL NCDHHS S:\Forms\1820