Writing for the web in depth: user needs, titles, summaries and scannable pages
For marketing coordinators, content writers, support staff who write help-centre articles, and anyone who publishes web pages. Prerequisite: 'Writing for the web and accessibility', which covers plain language, headings, lists, descriptive links, alt text and contrast. This course takes the whole page: writing a user need and acceptance criteria before you write, page titles and summaries that work in search results, front-loaded structure and headings people can scan, link text and where links go, and testing a page with real users. It follows the GOV.UK content design guidance and digital.gov's plain language guides; they were written for government sites but apply well to company help and product pages. Your organisation's house style and publishing rules still apply.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 92 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Write a user need with acceptance criteria for a web page, and cut content that doesn't serve it
- Write a page title and summary that work in search results
- Structure a page for scanning with front-loaded content, descriptive headings and short paragraphs and sentences
- Write descriptive link text and place links in context
- Choose a suitable test for a page and revise it from what users show you
Course outline
- 1.Writing a user need with acceptance criteria, and cutting what doesn't serve itLesson · 18 min
- 2.Writing a page title and summary that work in search resultsLesson · 18 min
- 3.Structuring a page for scanning: front-loaded content, headings and short paragraphsLesson · 20 min
- 4.Writing descriptive link text and placing links in contextLesson · 16 min
- 5.Choosing a suitable test for a page and revising it from what users show youLesson · 12 min
- 6.Writing for the web in depth: user needs, titles, summaries and scannable pages: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 14 questions
- 7.Writing for the web in depth: user needs, titles, summaries and scannable pages: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- GOV.UK: Understand content design (start with user needs; amount, format and place; style; maintenance)
- GOV.UK: Identify user needs (the As a / I need to / So that template, action-based needs, acceptance criteria)
- GOV.UK: Write clear titles (unique, 65 characters, descriptive, right verb, no content type)
- GOV.UK: Write clear summaries (160 characters, active, full stop, new keywords)
- GOV.UK: Create a clear structure for your content (how people read online, frontloading, headings, lists)
- GOV.UK: Write effective links (where to link, placement, link text, anchor links)
- GOV.UK: Use clear language (plain English, contractions, must/need/can, active voice, sentence and paragraph length)
- Digital.gov: Plain language guide, Design for understanding (key information at the top, headings, lists, emphasis)
- Digital.gov: Plain language guide, Test for understanding (when to test; paraphrase and usability testing)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.