Website Tips and Tools

Writing Great Content for the Web

Although it�s usually recommended to hire editors and writers with experience writing for the web, the transition from print writing and web writing can be made rather painlessly with a little understanding and flexibility in your writing. Once you understand the principles of web content, and the reasons for their differences, modifying the way you write for more digestible web content is within reach. This article will try to outline some of the most important � and most often overlooked � differences between these two publishing mediums.

Think Quality, not Quantity
The ever-increasing number of websites out there coupled with the increasing level of browsing experience the average web user is logging is resulting in shorter attention spans for lengthy text and fancy marketing lingo. Web users know there are a million places on-line to get information, and they are most interested in the ones that can help them find the answers they want in the fastest, most accessible way possible, with as little marketing fluff as possible.

Most web surfers don�t even attempt to get through a whole page of content. They quickly skim through the page, looking for headings, images, bulleted lists, bolded text, or links that indicate that the page they�re on actually has what they want. A long scrolling page of text with no visual breaks or information �summaries� is likely to lose a visitor before they have even read anything on the page.

Even printed material is often skimmed before it�s read. Admit it. Before you decided to actually read this article, you gave it a once over to see what it contained. Your eyes went to the bolded headlines and pulled quotes before they even glanced at the paragraph contents. In that respect, the web is no different. The difference here is that you can put this article down on your desk and get back to it later. Once someone closes their browser window, the chances of them coming back to search for the information they couldn�t find right away are slim to none.

Ways to Web-ify Your Writing Style:
Break up long bodies of text into smaller, more concise paragraphs. Users have adopted the attitude that �www� stands for the �Word Wasting Web�, and simply won�t read it. They know they can find the information somewhere else in less time with less filtering, and if you present your case in a clunky, cluttered way, they will do just that.

Smaller, bite-sized paragraphs, which convey specific thoughts or ideas will help your visitor to find the information they want quickly. Make your introductory sentence meaningful and thorough. Burying your important thoughts within acres of text will only help your visitor decide to move on in the hopes of finding what they need elsewhere. The concept of �one idea per paragraph� works well in a web environment. With a quick scan, the user can look at the lead sentences and easily see a clear picture of what information you are offering.

Be Direct!
Resist the temptation to revert to the kind of writing that years of print work have taught you! Be clear with your headings, and try to stay away from cutesy but vague headlines. On the web, they are meaningless to a reader who is quickly skimming a long article to see if it contains the information they are looking for.

Short, descriptive headlines are an invaluable way to point the reader towards the information they want. A good example is the headline to this paragraph. In print, it works. A better heading for this paragraph would have been �It takes longer to read from a computer screen than on paper�. A little boring though, right? With a little creativity, you can find a good compromise with something like �Lose the Lingo � Avoid Vague Headlines �.

Extra Extra! Read All About It!
Good headers can easily be the deciding factor as to whether or not a web surfer stays on your site to see what you have to say, or move on to hopefully greener pastures. Make them count. Step back from your work and look at the headlines you have written. Forgetting what the paragraphs are about, would you be able to tell what information is presented in your content by scanning the headlines?

Also remember that the Internet is NOT limited to English speaking users, so be careful with your use of metaphors and symbolism. Web users whose first language is not English, this can be confusing and sometimes misleading.

Other Headline Tips: