Hello!
Welcome to the City's one-stop shop for relevant resources to help you build your department's web pages. If you don't see something below that you think would be helpful, please email Julie Moore at jmoore@LynnwoodWA.gov
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Please use the following credentials when signing into the Help Portal:
To browse the different templates available, and their variations, visit OpenCities' content types overview on the Help Portal.
*IF you cannot remember your password, email Julie Moore at jmoore@LynnwoodWA.gov, and your password will be reset for you.
We write in conversational language using the City’s voice and tone. When writing, remember the following:
- Lynnwood’s Community Vision is that Lynnwood will be a regional model for a sustainable, vibrant community with engaged citizens and an accountable government.
- Lynnwood’s committed to being a safe, welcoming, and equitable community for all
When writing, the voice and tone of the City of Lynnwood is:
- Familiar — easy to talk to; personal; creating a sense of belonging
- Vibrant — full of energy and enthusiasm; vital, diverse, proud, joyful
- Straightforward — direct, honest, and sincere
- Helpful — confident, accessible, supportive, and caring
- Forward-thinking — idealistic yet practical; outcome-focused, driven, and creative
8 questions to ask about your content:
1. Would this put me at ease?
2. Do I sound like someone I’d want to talk to?
3. Does this hold my attention (or do I get bored)?
4. Is the purpose of this content obvious?
5. Is there a simpler way of saying this?
6. Does this provide value to my audience?
7. Is this easy to understand?
8. Would this make me feel more confident?
9 tips for writing in the City’s voice:
1. Write in the first person (e.g., “we”) and address your audience directly (e.g., “you”).
2. Use active voice and strong, precise action verbs.
3. Vary your sentence and paragraph length and avoid dense blocks of text.
4. Choose simple words whenever possible and use common, conversational language (aim for a readability score of grade 9 or less). Remember, Lynnwood
has a large majority of non-native English language speakers, plain language is easier for everyone to read.
5. Lead with your best material and get right to the point.
6. Listen for the real question and answer directly, without giving unneeded additional information.
7. Focus on what people care about—what’s in it for them—and avoid talking about yourself.
8. Write with an emphasis on the benefits and outcomes instead of dwelling on the problems or the process.
9. Keep your audience and their situation in mind (this is where the tone comes in). Consider what they’re thinking and feeling and meet them where they are
—then guide them toward how you want them to feel after reading your words.
Words to avoid:
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Word / Phrase
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Reason
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Preferred Alternative
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Citizen
*Unless referring to a proper name of a program.
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Lynnwood is a diverse community and citizen is not an all-encompassing noun.
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community member or resident
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Fire Department
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The City of Lynnwood no longer has a fire department. Our community is served by a regional fire authority.
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-South Snohomish County Fire and Rescue
-South County Fire
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Preferred Styles:
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Item
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Style
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Example
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Date
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Written out with month, day, year is the preferred style.
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October 12, 2019
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Addresses
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Addresses may use abbreviations such as PL, ST, SW, however do so without periods.
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19100 44th Ave W, Lynnwood WA 98036
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Email Addresses
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Lynnwood should be capitalized as well as WA in City emails.
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jmoore@LynnwoodWA.gov
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Phone Number
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Use hyphens with no parentheses
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425-670-5023
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| Services Pages |
When creating service pages, use the following modes: |
- Online
- By email
- In person
- Phone
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10 Rules For Content
- Focus on a Single Topic per page
- Write a clear page title/topic
- Lead with your best material or ask a question
- Focus relentlessly on your audience
- Write simple sentences, use simple words
- Break up content into digestible sections
- Cut unnecessary words
- Address people directly
- Tell people what to do
- Connect cause and effect
Hemingway Editor Tool
We strive to write at the 6th grade level. This makes content more accessible and readable for everyone. We realize that some language needs to remain technical for federal/state regulations. In these cases, write at the 6th-9th grade level. The Hemingway Editor is a great tool to help you analyze your content. Simply copy and paste your content into the editor to explore ways to make your messages more clear. Learn more about the Hemingway App here.
There are other great resources available to help you plan and create clear, and easy to read content:
- Plain Language (written by a group of federal employees from different agencies and specialties, who support the use of clear communication in government writing)
- 18F Content Guide (how to plan, write & manage content)
To be compliant with ADA and for accessibility for those using screen readers it is important all our images have "Alt" tags. This way a visually impaired person would know what the image is on a web page. To check the alt tag, just move your mouse over a photo and it will pop up:
To add an alt tag, go to Files then double click the photo and click on Update File. Then enter the text in the File Description area:
Alt tags should always be complete sentences and they should repeat the words in the graphic or photo if they exist. You do not need to say "This is a photo".
Alt tags should be added when the image or document is uploaded. Then when the photo or document is used on a page it will use that alt tag by default. If the image or document is added to a page before an alt tag is on it you will need to add the alt tag to the image on the page for it to show up (or unlink and relink the image).
It is best practice to edit your photos prior to uploading them to OpenCities (i.e. crop, resize).
The fixed width of the Featured Content photo is 380 x 216
The fixed size for landing page images is 380 x 250
There is no standard dimension for images on events, news or module pages.
Please test out the search function and see if your pages are showing up. If not, you may need to add some keywords to your pages by putting them in the "common search terms" box under supporting information.
The description text that shows up under the page name in search is pulled from the "facility summary" or "what is the purpose of this content" boxes.
If you are having problems with search not pulling up your items, please enter the keywords.
Adobe Acrobat provides tools so their documents can be read by persons with disabilities to meet accessible standards. You can make accessible PDF documents by following their instructions.
When creating them from Word please always select "Save As" and then "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility".
To embed a video on the site, make sure it is responsive (that it will resize depending on the viewing device like a phone).
1. To do this first find the video you want to embed, then click the Share button on Youtube:
2. Next click the "Embed" icon
3. Only select the file link (highlighted in blue below). Do NOT use the copy button at the bottom, but press CTRL-C on your keyboard to copy the link. Do not copy the quote marks (").
4. Open the page in OpenCities you want to add the video to and click on the blue area:
5. Click on the HTML button.
6. Go to the place in the code you want the video copy and paste the code below there. NOTE: where is says "PUT_VIDEO_LINK_HERE" replace that text with the link you copied from YouTube. Be sure to leave the ?rel=0 after the link but within the quotes.
<div style="max-width:640px;margin:0 auto; padding:5px;">
<div style="position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"><iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" src="PUT_VIDEO_LINK_HERE?rel=0" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; max-width: 640px; max-height: 360px;"></iframe></div>
</div>
7. Save and preview your page. If it is not in the right spot, you might put some placeholder text in the editor before you press the HTML button, that way you can look for that text. If you have problems please contact one of the web exec team members.
- Images and Documents: Do not upload and keep multiple versions of the same asset (image, document) in the asset library. If you have an updated asset, it is best practice to re-upload over the existing asset.
- Department files: Departmental files have been created, however it is your responsibility to determine the file structure inside your department file.