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Writing for the Web
By WebAssist (c) 2009
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Content is one of the most valuable things you can focus on
during development of your website. Consider each page of your
website a chance to capture or lose your audience. If a
web page has paragraph after paragraph of text, many visitors
won’t bother to begin reading. There are various other things to
be leery of when writing for the web. This article covers eight
tips to help you succeed when writing content for your
website.
Entice with Communicative Headings
Visitors decide whether to invest their precious time reading
your content, typically after scanning a heading or two.
Consider which headline will receive more attention:
• PHP solutions for the Web
• Three eCommerce PHP Solutions for the Web
While both could be headings for the same content, the second
heading will attract more attention because it clearly denotes
what will follow. Additionally, it adds a level of expertise. It
is also important to keep your headings concise. When headings
wrap to multiple lines, they start becoming paragraph-like and
readers cannot scan them. Sub-headings are another way to make
your content easier for visitors to scan. Once readers have
decided your heading is worth investing more time in, they often
scan the sub-headings to jump to the section that is most
applicable to them.
Conclude Before You Expand
Every page of your website should cater to the most impatient
reader and clearly state what the page is about in the first few
lines. Most readers won’t want to read an entire page to get to
the point. Write an introductory paragraph that summarizes the
most important parts.
Many successful writers outline the points they want to get
across, fill in those points and only then do they write their
first paragraph. It is not necessary to write from top to bottom
and this method can help you write a stronger introduction.
Create Effective Lists
It is quicker to scroll down a web page than it is to read from
left to right and keep your eyes wrapping from line to line. For
this reason, readers appreciate lists. However, it is important
not to use overwhelmingly long lists. Studies have shown people
can remember 7 things at a time. A list of seven bulleted items
is digestible, while a list of 50 is intimidating. If it is
crucial for you to list 50 points, break up your lists with
sub-headings so readers are able to jump from section to section
efficiently.
Write Clearly and Succinctly
Whether your visitors are coming to gain information, make
buying decisions or simply be entertained, respect that they
don’t have all day to read your content. If you are wordy, you
can expect your visitors to drift to competitors’ websites.
However, don’t sacrifice clarity for brevity.
Similar to print writing, each paragraph should contain only one
idea. The attention span of a web reader is shorter than that of
a print reader though, which makes it important to trim your
paragraphs to a few sentences each.
Eliminate unnecessary words. For example, there is no need to
say, „at this point in time“ when you can say „currently.“ It is
useless to say „an awful tragedy“ when tragedies are awful by
nature. Avoid describing an object as „round in shape“ when you
can just say round.
Avoid the passive voice. For example, replace, „My life has been
made easier by templates“ with „Templates simplified my
life.“
The above paragraph helps illustrate that examples are useful;
however, I should specify that repeating yourself is not. Do not
say the same thing in three different ways.
Use consistent language. Consider your audience when writing in
first, second or third person and be careful transitioning from
one to the next. Jumping from a formal paragraph to a first
person story sounds like two authors wrote the content.
Finally, read your content aloud and trust your first reaction.
If you have to re-read to put the emphasis in the correct part
of the sentence or to understand your point, you can bet
that others will too.
More importantly, have someone else read your content -
preferably, your target audience, not your business partner. You
are too close to the ideas you want to communicate and others
may find ambiguities that you will certainly want to clarify.
Create Content Relative to Your Audience
Know your audience and speak to them, not at them. Whether your
objective is to sell toilet seats or convey a change in the
stock market, play to people’s emotions. Don’t use technical
terms for a less than savvy audience.
Don’t assume your readers have been to certain pages of your
website before others. With a growing dependence on search
engines, visitors often arrive at a website two tiers down from
the home page. Consider the visitor’s point of view: If I knew
nothing about this company or website, would I understand this
page?
Be cautious of tangents, information and links that will
distract a reader from the web page’s primary purpose.
Specify Links with Style and Language
Links are another way visitors can scan your web pages as they
stand out from normal text – or at least they should. Make sure
your links differ in color or style from other text on your
website. Using „click here to learn more“ is a waste of space.
Instead, use „learn more.“ Your links should tell readers where
they are going, but they shouldn’t be reminded they need their
mouse to get there.
Be specific with where the link is leading to. There are many
websites that break up articles into two or more pages. Readers
are more apt to click on a link that says, „Part 2: SEO
Tips“ than they are to click on a link that says „next.“
Proofread – Forward and Backward
There are some people who are a captivating force to typos and
grammatical blunders. While some will gloss over these errors,
the people who do notice are typically repelled. Websites with
typos look unprofessional – or worse – like the author didn’t
care enough about the reader to take the time to proofread.
Tips for proofreading:
• Use spell check and grammar check.
• Read backward. When we read forward, our eyes skip over small words and miss mistakes.
• Have someone else proofread your content.
• If in doubt, look it up!
Trusting copy/paste is a common mistake; be sure to proofread
your content after it is on the web page.
Conclude with Action
Although many of your readers won’t make it to the end of your
content, it’s important to summarize for those who do. Include
your overall point, as well as where you would like to lead your
reader to next. If you are fortunate enough to have your readers
want more, don’t miss a chance to provide it!
For example, I would like to conclude by articulating that web
writing has similarities to print writing (entice and be
concise!) but differs in that readers are more impatient and can
easily „surf“ elsewhere. The more you understand how people read
on the web in general and what your audience wants to know, the
more you will keep visitors coming back for more.
About The Author
WebAssist helps web developers and designers build better websites faster with
Dreamweaver extensions, CSS templates,
as well as pre-built PHP scripts
and solutions.
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