Writing for the web course participants’ guide

Design scannable content

GOAL: Design content that’s easy to scan-read on screens of varying size.

Scannability checklist

Content element	Desired characteristics
Organisation	Starts with important information Grouped into short sections
Headings	Label each section, topic or message Start with important words Complete main heading Parallel phrasing used Styled with appropriate heading tags Sentence case used
Paragraphs	Focus on a single topic Start with the topic sentence Short (2-3 sentences)
Lists	Important lists are vertical (dot or numbered points) Labelled (heading, sentence or fragment) Parallel phrasing used Items start with important words List and items are concise Not nested Styled with appropriate list tags
Links	Concise, meaningful labels Behaviour identified Positioned carefully in text No repetition of links or labels