WEB SITES
Writing for a Web site is different from writing for print.
Writing for print is linear in nature, whereas writing for the Web is nonlinear.
Web page content is usually chunked and packaged, so that a reader can quickly scan the page and decide whether to read more. (Readers spend very little time reading text on an individual Web page.)
Web pages feature highlighted keywords, extensive use of subheadings, bulleted lists, and normally half the word length of a similar paper document.
When writing content for a Web site, consider these tips (Figure 101):
Tone down promotional marketing hype and focus instead on reference and helpful information.
Use an objective rather than a subjective tone.
Use the active voice for Web content.
Show numbers as numerals in all Web content.
Numerals are easier to scan and take up less room.
Spell out large numbers, such as a million, billion, and trillion, because the words are shorter than the numerals.
When writing headlines for Web articles:
Keep headlines short and format them in bold.
Summarize the article so that users will know enough to determine whether they want to read it.
Include the most important keywords first in the headline because readers often scan only the first few words of a headline.
Use keywords that match common user search criteria in search engines.
Substitute commonly known words for technical jargon.
Use generic names rather than brand names.
Make the average headline five words.
When writing a Web article, consider the following:
Use the inverted pyramid approach that is often used by journalists where you begin the article by telling the reader the conclusion, followed by important supporting information, and then end by providing background details.
Use down-to-earth informal language to make the content easy to understand.
Include hyperlinks to reference sources for added credibility.
Use humor with caution because of the wide variety of user preferences.
Use approximately 60% fewer words than you would if you were writing the same content for print.
Chunk the content into sections and move nice-to-know content to other pages, and include hyperlinks to this content in the main article.
Illustrations should always have a caption and complement the text rather than used just to make the page flashy.
Segment the text to make it easier to scan the document.
Break up long paragraphs into smaller segments.
Include a heading that describes the subject of each segment, and capitalize the first letter of each word.
Include subheadings where appropriate, and capitalize only the first word.
For lists of any kind, use bullet lists.
Use the three aspects of rhetoric: ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos—Establish the credibility of the author by including references and hyperlinks to your sources.
Pathos—Make an appeal to the reader’s emotions by writing from the reader’s point of view.
Logos—Appeal to the reader’s logic by providing statistical facts and convincing examples
