Synopses & Reviews
WWW may be an acronym for the World Wide Web, but no one could fault you for thinking it stands for wild, wild West. The rapid growth of the Web has meant having to rely on style guides intended for print publishing, but these guides do not address the new challenges of communicating online. Enter The Yahoo! Style Guide. From Yahoo!, a leader in online content and one of the most visited Internet destinations in the world, comes the definitive reference on the essential elements of Web style for writers, editors, bloggers, and students. With topics that range from the basics of grammar and punctuation to Web-specific ways to improve your writing, this comprehensive resource will help you:
- Shape your text for online reading
- Construct clear and compelling copy
- Write eye-catching and effective headings
- Develop your sites unique voice
- Streamline text for mobile users
- Optimize webpages to boost your chances of appearing in search results
- Create better blogs and newsletters
- Learn easy fixes for your writing mistakes
- Write clear user-interface text
This essential sourcebookbased on internal editorial practices that have helped Yahoo! writers and editors for the last fifteen yearsis now at your fingertips.
The Yahoo! Style Guide is the work of many Yahoo! contributors, including past and present editors within Yahoo!s editorial department, led by Chris Barr, senior editorial director. Find The Yahoo! Style Guide online at http://styleguide.yahoo.com.
The rapid growth of the Web has meant having to rely on style guides intended for print publishing, but these guides do not address the new challenges of communicating online. From Yahoo!, a leader in online content and one of the most visited Internet destinations in the world, comes the definitive reference on the essential elements of Web style for writers, editors, bloggers, and students. With topics that range from the basics of grammar and punctuation to Web-specific ways to improve your writing, this comprehensive resource will help you:
- Shape your text for online reading
- Construct clear and compelling copy
- Write eye-catching and effective headings
- Develop your sites unique voice
- Streamline text for mobile users
- Optimize webpages to boost your chances of appearing in search results
- Create better blogs and newsletters
- Learn easy fixes for your writing mistakes
- Write clear user-interface text
This essential sourcebookbased on internal editorial practices that have helped Yahoo! writers and editors for the last fifteen yearsis now ultimate sourcebook for anyone who uses the Web. "Yahoo!'s editors have given the rules of the writing road a smart and timely reboot. It's Strunk and White for the online world."Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post
"Do you have an online style? You need one. People judge your writing, and if you'd rather not be a n00b, here's a great place to start."Seth Godin, blogger and founder of Squidoo.com
"Yahoo! confounded the copy editors when it put unbridled excitement in its name. Back in 1996, for the first edition of Wired Style, we decided such idiosyncrasies were part of digital-age style. Today, with The Yahoo! Style Guide, the Web publisher has gone from renegade to rule maker. Its guide is a one-stop shop for those publishing on the Web."Constance Hale, author of Wired Style and Sin and Syntax and editor of sinandsyntax.com
"An excellent and eminently useful book with many compelling examples of rewrites. While rewriting content for usability will hugely increase a website's business value, the word list alone can save you the cost of the book by eliminating wasted time arguing over proper usage."Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D., Principal of Nielsen Norman Group, and other of Eyetracking Web Usability
"The first guide of its kind to focus on the specific issues associated with developing content for the online medium . . . Yahoo!s core team of editors . . . revisited the companys in-house style guide, addressed new concepts for online writing, and re-examined the old ones. They divided the guide into six sections covering not only the basics of grammar and punctuation, but also issues that even seasoned print editors and writers making the move to online writing struggle with, including creating accessible websites, minimizing legal risk on a website, and improving a sites rank in search results . . . Equally important, The Yahoo! Style Guide shows how to write for an international audience, an audience that has no borders, significant because the Web has become a one-stop shop for people communicating with others around the globe. The guide is an essential tool."Business Wire
Review
Advance Praise for THE YAHOO! STYLE GUIDE
Yahoo!s editors have given the rules of the writing road a smart and timely reboot. Its Strunk and White for the online world.”---Arianna Huffington, cofounder and editor in chief, The Huffington Post
Do you have an online style? You need one. People judge your writing, and if you'd rather not be a n00b, heres a great place to start.”
---Seth Godin, blogger and founder of Squidoo.com
Excellent and eminently useful book with many compelling examples of rewrites. While rewriting content for usability will hugely increase a Web sites business value, the word list alone can save you the cost of the book by eliminating wasted time arguing over proper usage.”
---Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D., principal, Nielsen Norman Group, and author of Eyetracking Web Usability
Synopsis
WWW may be an acronym for the World Wide Web, but no one could fault you for thinking it stands for wild, wild West. The rapid growth of the Web has meant having to rely on style guides intended for print publishing, but these guides do not address the new challenges of communicating online. Enter The Yahoo! Style Guide. From Yahoo!, a leader in online content and one of the most visited Internet destinations in the world, comes the definitive reference on the essential elements of Web style for writers, editors, bloggers, and students. With topics that range from the basics of grammar and punctuation to Web-specific ways to improve your writing, this comprehensive resource will help you:
- Shape your text for online reading
- Construct clear and compelling copy
- Write eye-catching and effective headings
- Develop your sites unique voice
- Streamline text for mobile users
- Optimize webpages to boost your chances of appearing in search results
- Create better blogs and newsletters
- Learn easy fixes for your writing mistakes
- Write clear user-interface text
This essential sourcebook—based on internal editorial practices that have helped Yahoo! writers and editors for the last fifteen years—is now at your fingertips.
Synopsis
From Yahoo!, one of the most visited Internet destinations worldwide, comes the definitive reference on the essential elements of Web style for writers, bloggers, editors, businesspeople, and students.
About the Author
The Yahoo! Style Guide is the work of many Yahoo! contributors, including past and present editors within Yahoo!s editorial department, led by Chris Barr, senior editorial director.
Table of Contents
I-WRITE FOR AN ONLINE AUDIENCE
1. Write for the Web
2. Identify Your Audience
3. Define Your Voice
4. Construct Clear, Compelling Copy II-SPEAK TO YOUR ENTIRE AUDIENCE
5. Be Inclusive, Write for the World
6. Make Your Site Accessible to III-WRITE UI TEXT, EMAIL, AND MOBILE-FRIENDLY CONTENT
7. Write Clear User-Interface Text
8. Write Engaging Email and Newsletters
9. Streamline Text for Mobile Devices IV-MANAGE THE MECHANICS
10. Punctuate Proficiently
11. Treat Abbreviations, Capitalization, and Titles Consistently
12. Apply a Consistent Style for Numbers V-CLEAN UP YOUR COPY
13. Shorten and Strengthen Sentences
14. Avoid Common Pitfalls in Word Choice, Grammar, and Spelling
15. Proofread and Test Before You Publish VI-RESOURCES
16. Get Familiar with Basic Webpage Coding
17. Optimize Your Site for Search Engines
18. Understand the Basics of U.S. Law for Online Content
19. Keep a Word List Exercise Answer Keys
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index