Writing for the web

Writing for the web is not the same as writing for any other medium.

How often have you read the whole of a web page? Most of us skim down a page, looking for headings, lists, highlighted text etc, and then only read parts of the page that seem to be relevant.

So make sure your text “looks good”

Content is the most important part of your website: that's why people have arrived on your site: not for its up-to-the-minute design, its shimmering images or the latest "must have", but for the content.

If a web site doesn't have awesome content, it won't keep visitors for long.

Tips for writing web pages

• Get to the point: then expand on it
• Write relevant content: readers want information, so the page must be relevant to the search terms they used to get to your site
• Provide solid information: not advertising hype - it puts people off
• Put the most important content first: get to the point at the top of the page, then expand upon it - like an inverted pyramid - your conclusion is at the top
• Write short sentences: use concise sentences that get to the point
• One idea per paragraph: readers need to be able to pick up what the paragraph is about in the first few words. Keeping paragraphs short helps the reader skim the page
• Don't use 5 words when 1 will do - don't bog down your readers - use only the words you need to get the information across. Use simple words and phrases
• Don't use buzzwords or industry specific words: you will easily lose readers who don't understand what you think is obvious. Make sure your readers know what you're talking about!
• Avoid "clever" headings and meaningless phrases
• Make your pages easy to skim read - visually break up the text :
  • Use lists: bulleted or numbered - but not too long
  • Use headings and sub-headings: it will help your readers find the section of the page that is relevant to them
  • Make links part of the content: they stand out from normal text, and provide more clues as to what the page is about
  • Indent parts of the page
  • Highlight key words or phrases in bold or italic (not underlining - looks like links)
• Proofread your work: typos, spelling and grammatical errors are unprofessional and give a poor impression.

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If you have more questions or you need more help or advice, please contact us and we will endeavour to help you ~ without any obligation.