Online writing courses for New Zealand web writers
Flickerwell Academy
Writing for the web is an art and a science. Successful web writing enhances credibility, improves search engine rankings, and increases conversion rates.
Learn web writing for your business, government, not-for-profit, or personal projects. Give readers a better experience, maximise your website’s potential, and acquire new skills for the digital era.
5 courses,
20 chapters,
100 five-minute lessons
Digital Basics
3 chapters
15 lessons
1 quiz
Audience
3 chapters
15 lessons
1 quiz
Writing & Editing
8 chapters
40 lessons
1 quiz
Visual Design
3 chapters
15 lessons
1 quiz
Refinement
3 chapters
15 lessons
1 quiz
Course content
Digital Basics
Digital is different
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help you and hurt you
HTML & CSS underpin it all
Audience
Audience analysis is your first step
Accessibility is good for people and good for profit
Inclusivity can grow your audience and build goodwill
Writing & Editing
Style guides improve your writing and help solve arguments, too
Navigation is deceptively simple
Headings are where it’s at
F-ing up your writing is always a good thing
Links can make or break your reputation
Plain language is best
Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps people find your good work
Editing, editing, always be editing
Visual Design
Information design helps readers absorb and understand
Images are not for decoration
Typography changes everything
Refinement
Privacy and compliance are legally (and morally) non-negotiable
Apps, ebooks, and the mobile web also deserve consideration
Tools and resources will guide you forward
How you’ll learn
Written lessons
A writing course should be written, right? Each of our 100 written lessons can be read in five minutes. Lessons end with thought-provoking questions which prompt you to reflect on your learning.
Real-world examples
Every lesson is grounded in the real-world, with frequent examples from New Zealand websites or apps. These demonstrate how fundamental concepts apply to real-world content creation.
Real-world resources
You’ll learn to use a style guide to enhance and professionalise your writing. You’ll also learn to use AI and SEO tools to ensure your web writing supports your website’s goals.
Why Flickerwell Academy?
Digital writing expertise
Not only does Flickerwell publish the world’s finest ebooks, it also publishes the Flickerwell New Zealand Style Guide. We know how good writing can change the world.
New Zealand English
Flickerwell Academy was developed by Kiwis, for Kiwis, using New Zealand English. We accommodate local formatting, spelling, and vocabulary, alongside local examples.
New Zealand Style Guide
A style guide is an essential tool for any professional writer — especially people working in teams. The New Zealand Style Guide is a free companion resource for all students.
Learn anywhere, anytime
Our courses adapt to your schedule. Take our browser-based lessons in any order, on any device — desktop or laptop, tablet or phone. Retake lessons as often as you like.
Personal feedback
Each course ends with a 20-question quiz. You’ll receive personal feedback along with your score. If you pass all five courses, you’ll earn a Flickerwell Academy Certificate of Completion.
Employment prospects
Apply web writing skills in your current role, or use Flickerwell Academy as a stepping stone to become a content developer, digital copywriter, marketing content writer, or web editor.
Most importantly, we know our stuff
Ario Smith BA BSc GDID
I’m Ario Smith, editor at Flickerwell.
I bring 20 years of experience designing, writing, and editing digital content. My expertise includes producing apps, ebooks, and websites.
My biggest impact was at the University of Otago, where I learned that, like education, good writing can change the world.
Here are some examples:
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As part of a team redesigning the University of Otago website, I rewrote the homepage content, along with key recruitment and enrolment pages. In the face of a nationwide decline in the number of students entering university, these changes contributed to an unprecedented 9% jump in first-year enrolments.
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I led content development for the university’s official mobile app, which featured an innovative bilingual interface. Within a month of launch, the app had a 95% uptake rate amongst new and existing students, with 100% positive reviews.
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Search visibility is the estimated percentage of clicks a website receives from Google searches. I refined existing content on the Otago MBA website, resulting in 275% better search visibility within a month.
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I led the user experience (UX) development of a postgraduate research opportunities database, designed to recruit students from around the world. Over four years, it saw a 2,000% increase in enquiries from prospective students.
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Organic traffic comprises visits to a website from unpaid search results. I redeveloped the Christchurch campus’ homepage to increase postgraduate recruitment, resulting in a staggering 16,000% increase in organic traffic to key recruitment pages.
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I developed an ebook publishing system for the Division of Health Sciences. My ebooks, which were designed to work on the widest-possible range of devices and be fully accessible to students with disabilities, were used by over 3,000 students annually — with zero tech issues or complaints.
Good writing can change the world.
Are you ready?
Flickerwell Academy
NZ$299 for 1 year
Unlimited access to five courses, all in New Zealand English. At the end of each course, take a quiz to receive personal feedback on your progress. After passing all five quizzes, receive a printable Certificate of Completion.
Enrolments open late-April 2025.
✓ Digital Basics
✓ Audience
✓ Writing & Editing
✓ Visual Design
✓ Refinement