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How to write for the web
Make it scannable
You don't want to write
your web page the same way you would write an academic paper or
a brochure or magazine. Users don't necessarily read a web page,
they skim it. They will scan through it as fast as possible until
they find exactly what they are looking for.
So how do you make your page scannable? There are three important
steps.
#1: It needs to be concise
You don't necessarily need to elaborate on every single little
point. Things need to be kept as short as possible, so that users
just get the facts and not any fluff. Typically, you want half
the word count (or less) for your articles than for a printed
piece on the same topic. One way to do this is something called
inverted pyramid style: start with your conclusion. That way,
a user will know if they are going to find what they're looking
for before they look through your page. Also, concise writing
is search engine friendly because the search engine can find
your important or eye catching content more easily and index
it accordingly.
#2: It needs emphasis
If a user is scanning one of your articles,
you want to catch his eye with keywords or phrases. There are many ways you
can do this. Italicize text, color
it, underline it, bold it, or use bullets
for lists of important points, depending on the style of your website. Meaningful
sub-headings under titles can also help catch a reader's eye. The final point
for emphasis is your word choices. Learn to make your webpages find friendly
(ctrl-F friendly Windows; Apple-F friendly Mac).
Pepper your articles with key words and phrases. Many times when
a user goes to a page, they just use the search function in their
web browser to find exactly what they're looking for. Making sure
your articles have lots of emphasis can make searching much easier
for users.
#3:
It needs to be broken down
Break your webpages up into
smaller, more manageable chunks. Nobody wants to read a wall o'
text. Here are some ways you break your pages down:
- Meaningful titles and subtitles
not only direct your users to where they need to go, but also
keep your articles divided into clear, distinct topics.
- Only have one main idea per
heading. If your subtitle says one thing, make sure that part
of your article is only about that one thing.
- Use bullets, they catch the
readers eye and they can create clear and concise lists of information.
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