How to Make Your Writing For The Web More Effective

The most important thing to keep in mind when writing for the Web is that you aren't writing for readers. You are, instead, writing for viewers.

What this means is that, unlike magazine and book readers, Internet users don't read word for word - they skim. They come to the page they want to peruse and they scan it, picking out a few important words and sentences. A recent research study found this to be the case for 79 percent of the Web users they studies. Only 16 percent of these respondents read pages word for word.

What this means to those writing for the Web is that the pages must be scannable. Keywords should be highlighted either by changing typeface or style (italics or bold,) or a different color or hyperlinked. Subheads should be included to break up the text and for more eye appeal. Unlike print newspaper heads and subheads of old, these subheads should not aim for alliteration or a catchy phrase, but rather for clear meaning.

Lists that are preceded by bullets or check marks are great ideas when writing on the Web. Internet users eyes are drawn to bullets and lists with white space above and below. As I have already mentioned, this is because web users don't read word for word - they tend to scan the page.

No paragraph should include more than one concept when you are writing for the Web. Include a second concept in the paragraph and the probability is that your viewer will never see your second point or issue.

Writing for the Web is most effectively done as an inverted pyramid, with the conclusion at the start of the article.

In general, when you're writing for the Web you'll want your article's length to be about half of what you'd write if publishing in a print product.

Credibility is an issue on the Internet. Your writing must be clear, concise and error free. The site on which your pages are located must be attractive and professional looking. Hypertexts that link to other professional and reputable sites help with credibility as well.

The best way to hamper your credibility when writing for the Web is to boast too much. Dramatic, hyperbolic claims detract from your message - and generally aren't believed. Keep your statistics and your beneficial claims low key and accurate. This will help to make you the expert Internet users turn to time and again, as you continue writing for the Web.