What is content chunking? Should my site pages include short content chunks? How about headings, bullet points, and numbered lists? Good questions. I have answers.
What Is Content Chunking (and Other Common Site Questions)
Here are some common questions about website content — and answers.
What is content chunking? Content chunking is breaking up content into clear, skimmable, bite-size chunks of information that site visitors find appealing and unintimidating.
How many words should a content chunk contain? Where possible, keep each content chunk to under 100 words. If you have lots more content (as you often will), hyperlink to a separate page of the site devoted to that content (a place where they can read more or learn more). You could also link to a cleanly designed, well-written PDF that provides more information on the topic in question.
Should content chunks link to other pages on my site? Absolutely. Internal crosslinks should make it easy for readers to navigate your site and find the information they’re seeking.
Think of the links as fast ways to get from room to room in a massive house. The passages through that massive house may be labyrinthine, but all site visitors know is that it’s easy to get from point A (this information) to point B (that related or more in-depth information). Internal crosslinks also help with SEO. (Get SEO tips here.)
Are headings important? They’re super important from a content organization standpoint, a reader clarity standpoint, and an SEO standpoint. Choose your headings wisely in order to make the information clear to site visitors and Google.
Can a content chunk contain just one sentence? Sure. Generally speaking, paragraphs include a main point and a discussion of that main point, and in school we learned that most paragraphs contain multiple sentences. In the web world, your goal is to communicate clearly to your target audience. If one sentence encapsulates your important idea and gets the job done, run with that.
I was told not to use bullet points and numbered lists on a website — is that correct? I get this question a lot, and find this advice to be very odd. Bullet lists and numbered lists are easy to skim, which is why they’re appealing. They can be overused, however. (Some site pages are filled with one bullet list after the next, which can be visually off-putting.) If you do include a list, do try to keep the number of bullets to no more than five. Numbered lists have a little more leeway (e.g., top 10 lists).
How do I know if I should use a bullet list or a numbered list? Use a numbered list if order or priority is important. Use a bullet list if order or priority isn’t important.
Get a Free Home Page Blueprint
You don’t have to go it alone. Get a free home page blueprint that will show you how to lay out your home page, as well as show you what content chunks look like and how they work.
