Contribute to the website

Some of our pages are managed by club web publishers. If you are one of our web publishers click here to view the web publishers guidelines.

If you are not a club web publisher and would like to send some information or photos in for the site then, firstly, thank you! It's people like you who help to keep our site fresh and up to date.

If you contact the website manager then we will provide you with details of where to send your information to.

There are a few guidelines to follow when sending information for the website:

Text content for the site

The site will read better for users if we have a consistent approach to the language used within it. Therefore, please follow the guidelines below when writing content for the site:

  • Write concisely

    Text viewed on a computer screen isn't as sharp as print on paper, so we tend to read it up to 25% more slowly. Therefore we need to keep the content on the website concise. Sentences should be kept to under 20 words long and the number of sentences kept to the bare minimum.

    A good way to discipline yourself is to write the content as you would normally, then re-read it and remove every single word where removing it doesn't change how the sentence will be understood.

    For example:

    Original text "At Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club we are always happy to welcome new members and have an easy and simple application process for those wanting to join the club. To join, you simply need to fill out the appropriate application form."

    Web version "At Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club we welcome new members and have an easy application process. To join, fill out the appropriate application form."

 

  • Break up paragraphs

    A solid block of text is very hard to read on screen, so keep paragraphs to three or four sentences each, with space between them.

 

  • Use lots of headings and subheads

    It's very easy to click from one website to another, and visitors don't like to hunt around for what they want on a site. If it's not obvious where the information they want is, they tend to leave the site. For the same reason, many visitors don't like to scroll down a long text.

    Therefore, using headings and sub headings will break up the text and help our visitors find what they're looking for.

 

  • Use "blurbs" to describe what visitors will find when they click on a link

    For example:

    Ladies dinner 2009. Photo album from the annual ladies' dinner social event.

    Link to multimap. This will take you to the multimap.com website with a map of this location.

 

  • Ask someone to proofread it for you

    Perhaps because of poor screen resolution, web writers (like email writers) often miss typos or grammatical errors in their own text. Website visitors, however, are likely to spot those mistakes very quickly! This will give them a perception that the website (and therefore the club?) is unprofessional and lacks attention to detail.

    So, if possible, ask someone to proof read your content before you post it - the website manager is happy to do this for you if it would help. Please also use a spell checker to help find mistakes (although this should not be a replacement for poof reading, as this sentence demonstrates!).

 

  • Use an informal tone

    For the majority of content please use an informal tone. We want the site to be friendly and approachable for all users, so formal language isn't really appropriate. Here are some tips on writing with an informal tone:

    • Use 'active' rather than 'passive' sentences. Here are some examples:

    Active - You can join TWHC half price now!
    Passive - TWHC can be joined half price now!

    Active - You must send your match report by Tuesday.
    Passive - Match reports must be sent by Tuesday.

    Active - Contact Jo for more information.
    Passive - Jo can be contacted for more information.

    • Feel free to use contracted forms, such as won't instead of will not and can't instead of cannot. This isn't a strict rule, but using the longer forms constantly will make the content appear more formal.
    • Ensure that the vocabulary you use is easy to understand. We have a wide range of people looking at the site so we need to ensure we use clear and simple words. For example, instead of 'The meeting will convene at 7pm', try 'The meeting will start at 7pm'.

However, the informality shouldn't go too far. The use of abbreviations which aren't common place or text speak will take informality to the point where it becomes incomprehensibility!

Where you are writing "serious" content for the site (eg club policies or details for making payments to the club) then please do use a more formal tone if you feel that it more appropriate.

Images

We want to brighten up the website with as many photos and images as possible, but we do need to take care when selecting images to publish.

Please ensure you only send images which are clear, in focus and where the scene/people being photographed fill the image (ie so they aren't too distant). Remember that the quality of the image will diminish for people viewing it online with different quality and resolution monitors, so it needs to be a good image to start with.

If the image contains anything which anyone could find offensive (because of the nature of the image and/or because they appear in the image) then please don't use it. Remember that anyone around the world could view the club's website and the image you publish. If you're not sure about an image then please feel free to ask the website manager for their view on whether or not it is appropriate.

You also need to ensure that you have the right to use the photo. Images which you find on the internet may be copyrighted, so please check for any licensing requirements before using them.

Images for the site need to be saved as jpg (for photos) or gif (for other images) files. A label and/or description can be added to each photo if you wish.

If you don't have the appropriate software to create a jpg/gif file of the image or to make any improvements required to the quality of the image, then please contact the website manager who will be able to assist.

Photos including those under 17

Where we are showing a photo of anyone who is 16 or younger, we must ensure that we have permission from the appropriate parent or guardian. We ask for this permission as part of the membership process for juniors and maintain a list of those from whom we have permission. We will check this list for any photos provided, so please ensure that you provide the names of any juniors within the photos.