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Tips and Best Practices#

Good Content#

Good content is Applicable, Findable, Rich, and Digestible.

Applicable#

Post any information that parents/guardians may need to refer back to.

This includes things like who to contact about absences; drop-off/pick-up procedures; Back to School Nights; testing dates; and related arts schedules.

This does NOT include bus delays or emergency messages.

Findable#

Create discrete news posts and event with descriptive titles that are based on what people might search for to find the information contained in your news post/event.

Example

If you are posting about an upcoming field trip, you might call it “May 2023 5th Grade Field Trip,” not simply “Field Trip.” This is particularly important if there are posts with similar content on your website, because it will allow parents to determine which one is most pertinent to them.

Rich#

Take advantage of opportunities to cross-reference materials on your site by linking between them.

Example

If you publish test dates on your school calendar, you could create and link to a corresponding news post that explains what the purpose of a given test is, who it is administered to, how results are reported, etc.

Digestible#

Use headings, bullets, and lists to make information quick and easy to read.

Be brief, but thorough (use lists and short paragraphs (1-2 sentences)).

Accessibility

Avoid using images if the purpose of the images is solely to enhance the aesthetic of your news post. (If not properly resized and compressed, images can impede your site from loading properly and inhibit people from accessing the information they need.)

Pitfalls to Avoid#

Don't Assume People Know You've Posted#

People won't necessarily know that you have posted new content on your website. Use your newsletter to tell them!

Your newsletter should consist of a series of headlines that match the news items you've posted on your website. Each headline should be followed by a short (1-2 sentence description/summary) and a link to the post/event on your website containing detailed information on that particular topic. HCPSS' weekly newsletter, HCPSS News, is formatted this way and can be used as a model.

Tip

If you have been entering your news items into your website all week, then when it's time to create your newsletter you can easily copy and paste your content into the newsletter.

Don't Update Old News With New Info#

Do not update old news posts if you have new information to share. Instead, create a new news post. At the top of the new post, write “UPDATE” and then articulate what has changed. Provide unchanged information underneath.

Tip

You can use the new clone feature to help you easily do this.

Doing this will also ensure that the message you post will appear along today’s date and that it appears at the top of your news page. If you simply update an old post with new information, the post will retain the original publication date and position on your news page–and in the process confuse parents about whether the information in that post is indeed new/current

Don't Replicate Content#

Link to HCPSS site where appropriate. Don’t replicate content on your site.

If you do copy/paste HCPSS content and HCPSS subsequently updates that content without you doing the same, your site will be out-of-date and cause confusion for parents/guardians.

Instead, create a news post/event where you provide some introductory text and then link to the relevant page(s) on the HCPSS website.

Example

Let’s say you want to provide information about filling out Family File on your website. Create a news post with a title like “Complete Your Family File.” In the body of the message, you could provide some intro text about why it’s important to complete Family File. You could then link to the page on the HCPSS website that includes step-by-step directions on how to create and edit Family File.

Writing for the Web#

Content should be easy to read and scan.

  • Keeping paragraphs short (2-3 sentences).
  • Using bold, italics, headings, and lists to call visual attention to key information.

See Towson University's Writing for the Web for more information about effective writing for the web.