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  • Keep the copy short. Web users are often skimming headings and jumping around the page to find content they care about. If a section looks like a lot of text (also referred to as a "wall of text"), users may skip it because another section is more visually interesting/easy to digest.
  • Use short, action-oriented (start with a verb) phrases instead of sentences.
  • If your sentence has lots of commas and connecting phrases, it probably needs to be re-written. Break out the phrases.
  • Consider using a bulleted list.
  • Special cases:
    • Storytelling often involves more text and text in several forms (headings, paragraphs, quotes, etc). Use a component like the card modal: a short heading is used to grab attention, and the user can choose to engage more by opening up the modal with the lengthier copy.
    • Like-content / multiple related sections: Consider a show/hide component like an accordion, dropdown, or tabbed content so the user only sees one section at a time.
  • Use short, action-oriented phrases
  • Link text should be specific and make sense to the user out of context
    • Bad: "Click here", "View more", "Register here"
    • Good: "Register for the webinar", "Read more about our dean", "View more about the curriculum"

Capitalization

Headings

  • H1s: Title-case
  • H2s: Title-case, unless it contains more than 6 words, then use sentence-case for better readability
  • H3s-H5s: Sentence-case

CTAs

  • Sentence-case

Buttons/links

  • Sentence-case

For SEO

Meta-title

  • 50-60 characters
  • Should mirror content in the H1/page title. (can match exactly or just contain the most important key words) 
  • The meta title “wins the click,” while the H1 “keeps the reader” by confirming the topic once they land on the page.
  • Meta titles appear in SERPs and should be concise, keyword‑focused, and compelling.
  • These also appear as the browser tab titles for users.
  • Our typical pattern for these is "Page title | Program/Dept. | Wisconsin School of Business"
    • We can break this pattern for a good reason (i.e. to include a keyword or help differentiate the page in browser tabs)

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