If you are responsible for creating online news content on ul.ie for your department, these five tips will come in handy to ensure your work is of the highest quality and best represents the University.

Better yet, these pointers don't just apply to news content, but to any content created on the UL website

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Headlines

  • Typically, no more than 10 - 15 words
     
  • Should be able to be understood out of context of the article itself
     
  • Use sentence case: There’s No Need to Capitalise Every Word or SHOUT THE HEADLINE
     
  • Avoid jargon, acronyms and technical terms
     
  • No exclamation points! They can appear patronising
     
  • Include keywords that make it easy for someone to Google the article
     
  • Read over your headline to double-check for misspelling, repetition or redundant words

Images 

  • Avoid images with text such as screenshots or presentation slides
     
  • Ensure all images are of high quality
     
  • Branding images with the UL logo isn't necessary
     
  • One high-quality image of the person/people involved in the story is perfect

More information on working with images

Structure and length

Studies have shown that the average user spends less than 15 seconds on a webpage before deciding whether to stay or leave. Source

After that, users only read about 20 percent of your content per page as they scan text for keywords. Source

Put the essential and most interesting information at the beginning. Include additional information in order of diminishing importance.

Avoid large chunks of text and break up your piece with images, videos or links. One sentence per paragraph/line.

If the piece is a quick update that can’t be expanded beyond one or two sentences, consider Tweeting (Twitter feeds can be embedded on your site).

Generally, web content should fall between 300-600 words per page.

Get to the point: Why you should keep content concise

Quotes

Quotes add context to a piece while also adding credibility and interest.

Example:

Speaking at the event, Professor Lawler said that cancer research collaborations doubled in the aftermath of the Good Friday agreement, with a significant improvement in its quality also.

“All of this work has saved thousands of lives and greatly improved the quality of life of people with cancer,” Professor Lawler said.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin, also speaking at the event, described the impact of the Belfast Agreement on health co-operation on the island of Ireland as ‘transformative’.

The improvements in cancer care that have flowed over the last 25 years are a “practical demonstration of the power of positive decision-making to improve people’s lives”, he told the conference.

Use plain English

  • Use simple words and avoid jargon or technical terms. 
     
  • Readers enjoy a conversational, upbeat tone over a bureaucratic one.
     
  • Define any technical terms or acronyms you use in your content. 
     
  • Avoid using long, complicated sentences that are difficult to follow. 

Writing in plain English is also important from an accessibility standpoint. Many people with disabilities, such as dyslexia, visual impairments, or cognitive disabilities, may have difficulty understanding complex language or sentence structures.

Writing in plain English: Just say what you mean

Voice 

  • Write in the active voice. "New research was published by University of Limerick sounds more dated and irrelevant than "University of Limerick has published new research"
     
  • Be upbeat, engaging, and conversational and write in plain English

Dates 

  • June 15, 2023 is the correct format
     
  • Avoid using vague references to time such as "On Tuesday" - that only makes sense when the piece is read that same week.
     
  • Be specific when referring to when something happened by using the date. 

Department/School

Department and school names use initial capitals but the word ‘department’ or ‘school’ always uses lower case, unless it begins a sentence. 

Numbers

Write zero to nine as words and 10 onwards in figures, unless a sentence begins with a number over 10.  

Examples:

The building has four floors 
The building has 14 floors 
Sixty-five million years ago, dinosaurs roamed

For larger numbers, use the following formats:  
2,000  
100,000  
1 million  

Note the comas between numbers and the space before million. 

Links 

  • Avoid pasting in entire links, it looks messy

Don't: "To visit the MarComm's UL Connect space, click here."

Do: "More information can be found on MarComm's UL Connect space."

  • Hyperlink the words (highlight+CTRL+K) that tell the user where the link will take them

More information on hyperlinks

Quick-fire pointers 

  • It's University of Limerick, not the University of Limerick, eg Here at University of Limerick we have the best staff.
     
  • Highlight important words using bold only
     
  • Not a huge update (less than 300 words)? Use social media instead
     
  • Applies only to the UL community? Use UL Connect
     
  • Download Grammarly to check for typos.
     
  • Check out the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) for more information on the use of plain language.