In Defense of Readers
YES! Users want content, which means the design of readability is very important. This post on A List Apart takes a careful, insightful look at how users read. 

Make your Firefox work for you
We could all use some shortcuts, no?

Mind-mapping content strategy
It’s the first we’ve seen.

SEO and survival
We’d like to add that you also need a good content strategy.

How One Little Letter Can Sabotage Your Meaning
Editing still matters—spelling and grammar go a long way in helping readers understand your content. Even in the age of spell check, you must choose your words, and use your words, carefully.

Social media secrets
This ClickZ blog post, combined with a great MIMA event today by Jeff Rohrs from ExactTarget, are good reminders that you aren’t in control when it comes to social media. And that’s a good thing. It means people are interacting with your content. And, well, isn’t that the point?

As such, we writers have regular discussions about troubling words or troublesome tasks of cleaning up misunderstandings about capitalization, em dashes, and the like. Here's one of the latest, when we officially decided not to initial cap “internet” anymore, whether it’s used as a noun or an adjective.

As I recall, the decision came about something like this:   

Angie 1.0 (me): Hey, everyone! Should we initial cap internet when we use it as a noun?

Angie 2.0: I don’t like capitalizing Internet. Or Web. Or InterWebs.

Katie: Yeah! I hate capping things.

Meghan: But didn’t we agree to initial cap “web” when we use it as a noun?

Angie 2.0: When did we agree to that?

Angie 1.0: Didn’t you get that email?

Meghan: Wired magazine doesn’t initial cap internet. And isn’t the rule about initial capping it in the process of changing?

Angie 2.0: And Wired is on the cutting edge of that change.

Angie 1.0: Right. Eventually nobody will initial cap internet.

Erin: Once the dictionaries catch up.

Meghan: Yes, let’s be on the cutting edge of change!

Everyone: Yeah!

Angie 1.0: Remember that movie The Net with Sandra Bullock?

Erin: Wasn’t that about identity theft on the internet?

Angie 2.0: Yeah, something like that. Do we have to initial cap “Net” when we use it as a noun?

Katie: We are NOT using “the Net.” Under any circumstances.

Everyone: YEAH!

A quick perusal of a few industry blogs revealed an inconsistent style on initial capping internet. So we turned to Wired for some guidance. In 2004, it declared that on its pages internet and web (and net) would not be initial capped anymore. We’re happy to officially join the trend—since we believe it will become a rule anyway. 

It’s definitely becoming a rule in our house style guide.

I've worked on well over two hundred websites, maybe close to three hundred.

And how many times have I had a style guide to reference for a web content project?

Six.

Of those six style guides, exactly one of them was of any real use to me. (Thank you, Medtronic.)

Our brands are constantly evolving. New products are launched, old ones retired. Services expand and shift. Trademarks, usage, legal requirements . . . for some of us, it's a full-time job just to keep up with them.

No wonder, then, that our web content is always a few steps behind. Inaccurate, irrelevant, outdated, disorganized.

How can you prevent crappy web content?
You know what I'm going to say, here. The most important thing you can do to ensure useful, usable online content is to create a web content strategy.

But the second most important thing? Invest in a web content style guide that's actually useful to the people who are creating, reviewing and approving your content.

In her indispensable guide to writing web content, Letting Go of the Words, Ginny Redish devotes an entire chapter to creating what she calls an "organic" web content style guide. Here are some highlights:

• Start small. Let your style guide grow as issues and questions arise.
• Don't repeat the entire universe. There are dozens of great style guides out there for grammar and usage. Pick one, and point to it in yours.
• Focus on issues that keep coming up. Your web writers likely have the same questions over and over. Make a decision, record it, and move on.
• Put someone in charge. The style guide isn't going to update itself. Make sure someone owns it and is accountable for its accuracy, every day.
• Put it online. This is a no-brainer. It's your most accessible, flexible, most cost-efficient option. In fact, a wiki might be a perfect option for your organization. Just make sure it has an owner to oversee its evolution.

Don't forget voice and tone.
I'll add one more pointer:

• Demonstrate your brand voice and tone. I'm always frustrated by brand guidelines that tell writers to be "authentic," "conversational," "professional," "friendly" . . . these words mean different things to different writers, and they're useless when you're simultaneously trying to communicate information that has to be helpful, compelling, actionable and scannable. So don't just describe voice and tone. Demonstrate it. Create a list of words to use, and words NOT to use. Show before and after edits. Point to other websites that capture the spirit of what you're after.

Creating and managing web content is a complicated enough undertaking. Simplify the process with a style guide people will actually use.

Want help creating a web content style guide? Brain Traffic's expert team of web editors and writers would love to pitch in. Contact us.