When you’re an expert, things appear to be much simpler than they seem. To help people understand your content, use words that a non-expert can understand. Not only does this make it easier to read and scan, people will spend less time trying to understand the meaning behind the text.

When writing for the web, edit your content to omit needless words. These words usually add fluff to your content, make important content less prominent, and increase page scrolling. Examples of needless words can be:

• whether or not
• in actual fact
• due to the fact
• in regard to
• literally
• presently

How often do you see links like these on a website?:

• http://www.capilanou.ca
• click here
• https://www.google.ca/search?q=capilano+university+logo&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwif_tW7wubTAhVI9mMKHZ2eDtEQ_AUIBigB&biw=1920&bih=941#imgrc=3gc95mdmvA45iM

These types of links can be seen as untrustworthy as it’s hard to tell where they go. The best practice is to use descriptive links. For example: “Many programs and courses can be found on the Capilano University Website”

Keep people where they left off. If you’re linking to an external website or to a document (.pdf, .docx, etc.), be sure to open the link on a new tab. This will prevent people from leaving your site and they can go back to where they last left off by clicking the previous tab. For internal links, open links on the same tab.

When possible, use bullet points to structure your content. Bullet points are often concise and easier to scan.