Scottish Court Service Web Style Guide

Scottish Court Service web style guide

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Web Style Guide

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Overview

Effective writing is simple, but that does not mean it is easy.

Here are three ways of saying the same thing:

• The goal of effective writing is to convey the intended message
• Communication is only effective when the message gets across to the recipient
• Writing can be considered effective when it is easily understood by the reader

The English language is endlessly flexible. It allows the same information to be delivered in

many different ways, as the example above demonstrates.

This guide isn’t going to tell you what you should be writing, but it is going to tell you how

you should be writing.

It is a compilation of advice designed to improve the final product that appears on the web

page. It offers a few hints on sentence structure, some grammatical and punctuation rules, and

tips on style aimed at achieving consistency across the whole website.

Keep it handy.

Refer to it when a problem crops up or the words don’t flow when you arewriting.

Always remember that the purpose of writing things down is so that other peoplecan understand them.

Effective writing is easy, but that does not mean it is simple.

What is MySCS?

MySCS is the Scottish Court Service’s intranet. It is entirely inward facing and can only be

viewed by Scottish Court Service staff. On it you can find the latest news, links, applications, and a whole range of other importantinformation we need to do our jobs every day.

MySCS also contains pages about the corporate side of SCS and court locations that make up the Scottish Court Service.

To create and update pages on MySCSusers should send an email to with as much information as possible. The webteam aim to respond to emails within 24hours.

If you find an error on a specific page, the easiest and quickest way to bring this to the attention of the website is to click on ‘Report a problem with this page’ which is located at the bottom of every page of MySCS.

Enter in as much information as you can and the webteam will look in to the issue.

If you would like to find out more on how to update pages, report a fault, or other query on a MySCS-related subject, please contact the team via the webteammailbox.

If you want to publish a news story, or have any questions/issues with the news on MySCS, contact the Corporate Communications Team via their mailbox (insert mailbox).

What is Scotcourts.gov.uk?

Scotcourts.gov.uk is the Scottish Court Service public facing website. It contains a large volume

of information relating to legislation, paying fines, court informationand news, and receives a substantial number of visitors.

On average, around 100,000 people log on to the site each month.

Scotcourts.gov.uk is split into X[WO1] sections:

These sections are self-explanatory. Your involvement will probably be in relation to adding

content to the topic, publication and/or consultation sections.

‘Topics’ should be a one-stop-shop for government policies. The topic pages have been

structured to reflect how users might source information. They do not reflect the structure of

our directorates, because nobody outside the organisation will know – or care – about what

a division in here is called.

When you are creating content try to take a step back from work and look at the content

from an outsider’s perspective.

If you would like to find out more about the website, contact the Online Communications

Team via the Online Communications mailbox.

Audience

By the very nature of the world wide web, a visitor to our site could be anyone of the

millions of people in the world that have access to the internet. This could be via their

computer, television, mobile phone, tablet, and any number of the many devices that hit the

market every day.

So we cannot make any assumptions about who they are, what they are looking for, and how

long they are willing to persevere in finding it.

There are some things we should always bear in mind:

Where the user is

The user might not be living or working in Scotland, or speak English as their first language.

Disabilities

The user might require special software/hardware to ‘view’ the site.

Education

The user might be anyone from a school pupil to a university professor. Never assume a level

of understanding in terms of acronyms and abbreviations, jargon and officialese. We must

always assume that users do not have a full understanding of what the Scottish Court Service

is, or what the functions of the civil service are. A middle ground that satisfies the full range

of educational attainment is best.

State of mind

The user could be busy and impatient. Is your content frustrating someone who just wants to

find specific information? The layout of your introduction page should be clearly structured to

point people in the right direction.

How they got here

We cannot assume that the user has ‘drilled down’ through your site from the homepage or

introduction. A single page within the site could be just part of a trail that the user is making

through a variety of different sites. Therefore all pages must make sense on an individual basis.

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Structure

Careful thought needs to be given to the structure of your web content and the way that

information is presented.

A well-organised web section is one that makes it easy and intuitive for visitors to find what

they want. Good structure also makes it easy for you to manage and develop your pages

logically.

Web sections are generally made up of three elements:

Introductory page

Sub-sections

Contacts and links pages

It is often useful to start with a pen and paper, listing the content that you have and then

organising similar types of information into chunks. Your web section may contain a number of

sub-sections.

When building your web section you should be aware that visitors could enter this from any

page, so you should always make it clear how they can get between pages easily. All pages

must make sense on an individual basis.

For further advice on how best to structure your web pages contact the Webteam via their mailbox.

Dos and don’ts

1. Do take time to clearly map out the structure of your web pages when creating new content
2. for the web. Don’t start creating web pages until you have done this.

1. Do keep the number of web sections to a minimum (ideally, no more than seven).

1. Do check existing content before creating new web sections to avoid duplication. Wherepossible, try to slot any material into a relevant existing category.

1. Do contact the webteam or communication office if you are in any doubt.

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Writing an introduction

First impressions count. The first page of your web section is the ‘shop window’ for the

content beneath.

A well-written, user-friendly introduction lets your audience know they’ve

found what they’re looking for. It can convince people to read on, or it can put them off.

The introduction should be engaging and informative, perhaps containing a key fact or statistic.

Keep it short – a maximum of three paragraphs.

It’s important to remember that you’re introducing the subject and not your team or division.

Try to avoid stating the obvious - an introduction like ‘Here you’ll find information on

transport’ doesn’t offer the reader anything of value.

A good introduction is straightforward, to the point and informative. A poor introduction is

full of meaningless pleasantries and doesn’t actually tell the user anything about the subject.

Right

Public sector spending on goods and services across Scotland amounts to around £8

billion per year. Procurement guidelines govern the purchasing of these goods and services

in areas such as health and education services, IT and telecoms, and local government.

The Public Procurement Reform Programme aims to drive up standards in the way the

public sector procures goods and services to ensure that taxpayers money is spent as

wisely as possible.

Wrong

Welcome to the website of the Procurement and Best Practice Team which we hope

you will find interesting and informative. In these web pages, you will find information on

procurement.

The site will be updated on a regular basis to include new material as it becomes available

as well as other items of interest. To navigate round the site, simply click on any of the

headings at the side.

Dos and don’ts

• Do get to the point. Keep the first page short and try to avoid the user having to scroll.
• Don’t start with a history of events leading up to the policy. Remember, users tend to preferthe latest information up front, rather than have to wade through text to find it.
• Don’t use phrases like “Welcome to our website” or “this web section contains informationon…” they are completely unnecessary and a waste of the user’s time.
• Don’t use too many links in the text of the first page, two or three at most. You want to getthe main points across without distracting the user.

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Dates and numbers

Dates in the format:

March 21, 2008.

... spoke at a conference on March 21.

... regarding the March 21 event.

Always use a hyphen in preference to a slash (/) in dates: 2009-10.

Numbers - one to nine written out in full:

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine …

From 10 upwards always in digits:

… there were 15 people present …

Thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands use internal comma:

2,500 or 10,678 or 650,400

Millions (& billions) as combination of letters and digits:

25 million NOT 25m

Follow same style for money references:

£25,000,000 or £25 million

Exception: To start a sentence with a number convert it to letters:

Ten thousand people met … NOT 10,000 people met ...

Never start a sentence with a monetary amount unless it can be prefixed by:

More than £5 million …

or

Around £13 million will be spent …

Ranges

Write out the first number in full and then write out the digits that change in the second number:

• pages 1,022–34
• 2011–13
• 1992–2012
• 9–10 months
• 10, 000–12, 000

Dates and numbers

Ratios

• a 9:7 ratio

Times

• 07.00

• 13.20

Midnight

• 24.00 for periods ending at midnight and 00.00 for periods starting at midnight

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Naming conventions[WO2]

Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers should always have their titles written out in full on first

mention.

First Minister Joe Public then becomes the FM or Mr Public on second and subsequent

mention.

Secretary can be used on its own e.g. Justice Secretary.

CS should not be used as an acronym of Cabinet Secretary.

Only FM and DFM can be written as acronyms.

Minister for Environment/Community Justice is interchangeable with Environment/Community

Justice Minister.

Ministers with more than one portfolio should use the element of their title relevant to

the subject in question. Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs becomes

Environment Secretary or Rural Affairs Secretary.

Write Director Human Resources rather than Director of Human Resources.

The Executive Team is made up of Chief Executive Eleanor Emberson supported by three Executive Directors:

• Executive Director Field Services Eric McQueen
• Executive Director Strategy and Infrastructure Neil Rennick
• Executive Director Judicial Office for Scotland Steve Humphreys

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Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are an essential feature of the web, allowing users to move directly to different

pages and different websites instantly. Virtually all web pages contain hyperlinks.

Hyperlinks are identified on a page by blue text that is underlined. The cursor changes when

you hover over a link. Links should be used wisely. Take the following text and how it should

be dealt with in terms of links:

Wrong

In the following web section you will be provided with a range of information about the

Scottish Court Servicesnational people strategy.

It also provides more information on court locations. There are also specific

sub-sections for those looking for more detail on paying your fineand on how to

have your say on the strategy.

The above paragraph is completely unnecessary, and should be replaced with four links:

Right

National People Strategy

Court Locations

Paying your fine

Have your say

We have been trained to write full sentences and full paragraphs, but on the web these full

sentences and paragraphs can often get in the way. On the web, people generally want to skip

the details and get straight to the point.

A paragraph of text can quickly become cluttered with links, and this can be distracting for a

user reading the content. If you have several links relating to a paragraph of text, then just list

the hyperlinks in bullet points at the end of the paragraph.

Dos and don’ts

• Don’t overuse hyperlinks – keep them relevant. For example, you don’t have to create

a link to the Scottish Court Service ‘About’ section every time you refer to the Scottish Court Service!

There are a couple of other rules to remember when you are creating hyperlinks:

• Never use ‘click here’ – it is unnecessary and can be confusing for assisted technologies

that read out links on the page.

• Always spell out what the link is about and do not use urls for links. For example: more information about the Scottish Court ServiceNOT

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Images

Images can really help to improve the look and feel of your web section. What may otherwise

appear to be a dull paragraph of plain text can really be made more interesting and user friendlywith the use of even a single image.

Relevant images may be found in the online image gallery[WO3]. The webteam

can offer general advice on sourcing images and ensuring these are of the optimum size, correct quality for web use and that copyright has been granted.

HANDY HINTS

Size - On topic pages, avoid using images that are either too large or too small. An

appropriate size would be between 230 to 300 pixels wide.

Positioning - Images should generally be placed on the right hand side of a web page. To wrap

text around the image, right click on the image and select the ‘Right of Text’ option[WO4].

Dos and don’ts

• Do enter a proper ‘Alternative Text’ description if are you are uploading a new image intothe online gallery. Simply typing ‘image’ or ‘picture’ is unhelpful for anyone using assistedtechnologies like screen readers for the blind.
• Don’t take your subject too literally. Images that represent the subject are fine. For example:
• Use a picture of a school road sign to represent the subject of school buildings
• Use a picture of cows to represent Foot and Mouth or Bluetongue
• Never use an image unless you are sure you have permission to do so.

If in doubt, contact thewebteam via their mailbox.

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Web addresses

Setting up a short simple web address (domain name) makes it easier for people to get

straight to your content. They are especially useful if you have advertised your site on printed

material or in emails. There are two ways to give your site a specialised web address:

1. Registering a new web address. e.g.

2. Using a short scotcourts.gov.uk address. e.g.

Option one is only available by contacting the webteam with a business case. Examples that have been set up are public inquiries.

If you are setting up a new website. Registering new addresses can becostly and domains require annual renewal. In addition to your preferred address you should also consider registering the suite of related domains (.com, .co.uk, .org. org.uk) to preventothers from using them inappropriately (cyber squatting).

Option two is the preferred SCS approach in most cases, as we are aiming to promote the

web address and provide information through this single channel. Havingone core address helps people remember where to find the information.

Example

Here a shortened address has been created to direct users to the complaints section.

Short and snappy addresses are much easier to remember.

Dos and don’ts

• Do create short (friendly) web address under scotland.gov.uk. To do this, email your requestto the webteam mailbox.
• Do try to ensure related organisations link to your shortened address.
• Do seek advice from the webteam, via their mailbox, before registering a new web address.
• Don’t register new addresses unless it’s absolutely necessary.

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Accessibility

The Scottish Court Service is committed to making information available to all. In practical

terms this means making sure anyone who cannot see or hear still has a means of accessing

information and is not disadvantaged. The web provides more opportunities to do this than

traditional mediums like print, television and radio.