Website Content Writing Tips
When writing for the web, use
- shorter sentences, words and paragraphs
- one idea per paragraph
- concise text - half the word count (or less) than writing for
print
- the inverted pyramid style, putting the most important point
or the conclusion first.
- simple words
- objective language to build credibility, rather than exaggerated
claims or overly promotional words like "great", "tremendous"
etc.
- bulleted lists
- highlighted text (bold or color, also hyperlinked text) for
scannability
- meaningful headlines and subheads, avoiding cute or clever lines
Write better web content.
Understand how people (don't) read on the Web
- Reading on the web is too much work!
Reading from a computer screen tires the eyes. People read 25%
more slowly on the web than they read print material.
That's why, web content has to be 50%
shorter than print.
- Readers on the Web scan text
According to a study by usability expert Jacob Nielson, 79% of
readers on the Web tend to scan or skim text rather than read
word for word.
Highlighted text (bold or color,
also hyperlinked text) and bulleted
lists aid scannability.
- Readers on the Web are impatient
Readers on the Web are in a hurry to get the information they
want, and move on.
They don't have the patience for obscure
and complex text. They don't enjoy scrolling through masses
of text either.
Since there are millions of alternative websites in cyberspace,
they will quickly move to another site if they don't enjoy the
information gathering experience on your site.
Attracting attention and retaining reader interest is a challenge,
specially as you have just
- 10 seconds to grab attention with your web site content
- 55 seconds to develop an understanding of your company or
product
To combat reader fatigue, make it easy for your Web users to
get relevant information. Put the
most important information at the top. Use clear and concise
text.
- Readers on the Web are skeptical
Credibility is a major factor
in retaining reader interest on the Web.
Use objective language, write meaningful headlines and
subheads and avoid marketing jargon
or exaggerated claims to build credibility. Cute or clever lines
could mean that the reader takes longer to get to the main point.
Hyperlinks to the sources of your information or to related information
also add to credibility.
- Readers avoid information overload
In an average workday, people suffer from information overload
. They already have a large number of emails in their inbox to
contend with, and several documents to read.
They don't want to spend time and effort reading content that
they may not find useful.
Offer your readers information in bite-size
chunks which are easily digestible. Use short sentences,
short paragraphs, one idea per paragraph.
Use meaningful headlines and sub-headlines
which help them nail the information they want, quickly and easily.
Contact Entheos for professional content writing services.
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