Writing for the Web

Best Practices

Text on CNM.edu should be as brief and direct as possible: 

• Remove adjectives and adverbs.
• Write in the active voice and use action verbs.
• Speak to your audience, not about them.
• Write in short, simple sentences.
• Use language your visitors would use.
• Highlight task-oriented information.
• Use headings and subheadings to organize information.
• Avoid academic jargon and explain acronyms that might be unfamiliar to visitors.
• Proofread your content prior to publishing.

Check Accuracy

You are responsible for the accuracy of your content on CNM.edu. Be sure that the information on a web page is accurate before posting it. Proofread your work several times and, if possible, have someone else proofread it.

If people encounter inaccurate or out-of-date information on CNM.edu, it reflects poorly on the College. Pages will be reviewed by the Web Content Team prior to publishing, but it’s important to remember that you are the expert in terms of content accuracy.

Prioritize Information

Most visitors on any website, CNM.edu included, spend little time on each page. In that time, they’re skimming the content looking for information relevant to their needs.

With that in mind, organize information so it stands out as needed to your audience, placing key information in easy to identify areas, and using bullet points, highlight boxes and other simple, stylistic options to prioritize. And remember, less is more.

Avoid Duplicating Content

The CNM website consists of thousands of pages and several thousand files. Before adding new content to the site, use the internal website search box to look for related information. 

If you find related or outdated information in the search results, we can help update it as an alternative to creating new content. This will help keep the website fresh and prevent unnecessary site growth.

Present Information in Small Chunks

Website visitors typically scan for information rather than reading continuous paragraphs of text. Make things easy on them by providing information in small chunks and using bullets, headers, and paragraphs to create some visual whitespace.

• The bullet format presents the information in an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand format.
• Don't overuse bold or write excessively long headings (good headings are typically 3-7 words).
• Long headings prevent visitors from being able to scan the page for the information they need.

For more information, check out these pages on How Chunking Helps Mental Processing of Content and Seven Tips for Writing Content in Bulleted Lists.