Page Elements
Certain content elements can guide a user through information, making a page easier to read and understand. This section covers requirements and best practices for writing headers, subheaders, introductory text, the body of content, and graphics and photos.
Headers
Requirements
Headers should do the following:
- Be concise
- Be unique
- Describe page content
- Contain keywords that:
- Searchers use in searches
- Help the page rank high in search results
- Are important to your users
- Provide a meaningful caption for search results
- Not contain acronyms or abbreviations, e.g., SETP Budget, Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) Budget
- Not include ampersands unless they are embedded in terms, e.g., R&D.
Introductory Text
Requirements
- Describes/introduces page content
- Contains keywords that
- Searchers use in searches
- Help the page rank high in search results (determine with Marsha)
- Are important to your users
- Does not contain acronyms or abbreviations that are not defined or used on the page.
- Does not include ampersands unless they are embedded in terms, e.g., R&D
- Spells out acronyms before they are used
Best Practices
In the introductory text, focus on optimizing content using search terms identified by the EERE Information Architect. The intro statement should provide the context – the who, what, where, when, why, and how about the project or topic. Search engines typically display the introductory content as a site or page description.
The introductory text should also describe the page content. Make your main points clear up front. If you had 30 seconds to tell someone the message you want the page to convey, what would you say?
Subheaders
Requirements
Subheaders should do the following:
- Break up long blocks of text
- Contain keywords that:
- Searchers use in searches
- Help the page rank high in search results
- Are important to your users
- Describe paragraph/section content
- Not contain acronyms or abbreviations, e.g., SETP Budget, Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) Budget
- Not include ampersands unless they are embedded in terms, e.g., R&D.
Best Practices
- When writing long pages, use subheaders every 2-3 paragraphs.
Body of Content
Requirements
Body text should:
- Contain keywords that:
- Searchers use in searches
- Help the page rank high in search results (determine with EERE Search Specialist)
- Are important to your users
- Not contain acronyms or abbreviations that are not defined or used on the page
- Not include ampersands unless they are embedded in terms, e.g., R&D
- Spell out acronyms before they are used
Best Practices
When writing the body of your content, consider the following:
- Get right to the point, and deliver your message clearly
- Use conversational language that your target audience will understand (avoid jargon and large, vague words)
- Use active voice (i.e., use "workers will complete the facility" instead of "the facility will be completed")
- Don't use long quotes, puns (especially if you have an international audience), and obsolete terminology (such as "check it out!," "cool stuff," "click here," "hot links," and "under construction")
- Only use time references when writing news articles. Out-of-date references decrease the site's credibility and present a maintenance problem—if you are using time references (i.e., today, yesterday, last month) on a static site, you are unlikely to go back to update that reference.
- Don't be afraid to use appropriate humor; your site should have a personality and consistent tone
- Make your content "scannable" so visitors can find what they are looking for quickly. Use the following approaches:
- Bullets
- Subheaders
- Summaries
- Typographical elements to pull out important phrases (larger type, bold face, italics—but NOT underlines, unless it is a hyperlink)
- Short sentences (no more than 20 words)
- Short paragraphs (no more than 3 sentences)
- Short pages (no more than 3-4 paragraphs). For content that is more than 3-4 paragraphs, consider "chunking" your content.
- Use headlines and summaries on your home page and on all menu-style pages.
Graphics and photos
Requirements
- Should be displayed near the appropriate text in the main content area of your Web pages
- Need descriptive alt text.
Best Practices
Try to add photos, illustrations, or other graphical treatments where you can. Graphical treatments can help bring attention to important content on your site, while photos and illustrations add color, dimension, and visual context.
Write meaningful captions that tie into the content of the page, not just describe what's in the photograph—but keep captions short and concise. A well-chosen photo with a meaningful caption can capture and drive home the main point of an entire page.
