Resources for web writers
When writing for the web, you have to keep a lot in mind: format, accessibility, devices, audience, house style and more. Luckily, there are plenty of useful tools out there to help you make your writing as user-friendly as possible.
Editing
- Hemingway Editor – a text-checker which highlights common problems that can get in the way of clear writing, including: sentences that are too long, unnecessarily complex words and the passive voice.
- GrammarCheck – a free online editor that checks for spelling errors and makes style and grammar suggestions.
- Grammar Girl – online tips to improve your writing; covers grammar rules and word choice guidelines.
Responsive design
- Responsive Design Checker – quickly demonstrates how your web page responds to different screen sizes, from large monitors to iPhones.
- Responsive Test – see how your web page responds to different screen sizes as well as custom-set dimensions.
- Google Mobile-Friendly Test – analyses a URL and reports if the page has a mobile-friendly design.
Accessibility
- WAVE Web Accessibility Tool – provides visual feedback about the accessibility of your web content, including: heading elements, alternative text and redundancies.
- Firefox Fang Screen Reader Emulator – renders a text version of a web page similar to how a screen reader would read it.
- Chrome Accessibility Developer Tools – this extension adds an ‘accessibility audit’, and an ‘accessibility sidebar pane’ in the Elements tab, to your Chrome Developer Tools.
St Andrews resources
- Service manual – includes St Andrews’ policies on accessibility, links, social media and design principles.
- Links policy – best practice for creating links that are easy to scan and navigate.
- House style guide – follow the St Andrews house style guide to maintain a consistent tone across University web pages and to make sure your writing is meeting accessibility requirements.