Tools and Resources for Editors
Use these free resources for ongoing help while you work on University websites. If you want to learn more about the science of writing web content, check out the books and articles listed here.
Websites
Quality assurance
- Silktide - full quality assurance platform for content, SEO, readability and accessibility (University subscription)
- Check My Links - check for broken links (free)
Readability
- Hemingway App - improve readability as you write (free)
- WebFX - readability test tool (free)
- Grammarly - check your spelling (free)
Accessibility
- Digital Accessibility (University guide to creating accessible documents)
- Colour Contrast Analyser - check for accessibility of colours (free)
- Accessibility Insights for Web - checks the accessibility of your webpage (free)
- WAVE Evaluation Tool - checks the accessibility of your webpage (free)
SEO
- SERP snippet generator - tool for SEO (free)
- SEO page testing - tool for SEO (free)
- Google Page Speed Insights - checks page loading time to advise on content and technical SEO optimisation (free)
Images and image editing
- Unsplash - copyright-free images (free)
- Newcastle University Photo Library - University commissioned photography (University login required)
- Blush Design - download free or paid illustrations and graphics
- PhotoScissors - remove background from images (free)
- Pixabay - copyright-free images (free)
- Photopea - browser-based image editing tool
Video, infographic and presentation embeds
- Iframely - optimised iframe embed for websites (free)
- Canva - easily create graphics, presentations etc (login required)
- Infogram - infographic creation and embedding - please contact Marketing Web Services
Document optimisation and embeds
- I Love PDF - compress PDF files (free)
- YUMPU - flipbook embedding for brochures (free)
Articles
- Text Scanning Patterns: Eyetracking Evidence
- The Layer-Cake Pattern of Scanning Content on the Web
- How Chunking Helps Content Processing
- Plain Language Is for Everyone, Even Experts
- Inverted Pyramid: Writing for Comprehension
- Writing Digital Copy for Domain Experts
- F-Shaped Pattern of Reading on the Web: Misunderstood, But Still Relevant (Even on Mobile)
- 7 Tips for Presenting Bulleted Lists in Digital Content
- Reading Content on Mobile Devices
- Website Reading: It (Sometimes) Does Happen
- Horizontal Attention Leans Left
- The Impact of Tone of Voice on Users' Brand Perception
- Better Link Labels: 4Ss for Encouraging Clicks
- Writing Hyperlinks: Salient, Descriptive, Start with Keyword