How to write for Web

Good website writing is the key to beating these statistics. Well-written content that’s optimized for the web rises to the top of search results and holds readers’ attention.

with so much content being published online every day, it is harder than ever to capture the attention of online readers. You must be able to produce relevant, interesting copy that can be easily read—or more likely, skimmed.  Know what your readers want and which of their problems you can help solve with your content. Plan to engage your readers by providing content for each stage of their customer journey.

Plan Before You Write 

 Know what your readers want and which of their problems you can help solve with your content. Plan to engage your readers by providing content for each stage of their customer journey.

Put your most important information first

 On web pages you have to do the opposite: your most important points always come first. Information that's most important to your web visitors is often a simple statement of what you do. Once they understand what you do, they might want to know some important details. And then- maybe they'd like to know some background information.

Write short, simple sentences

Long sentences are for Charles Dickens—the short attention span of today’s reader demands sentences of 35 words or fewer. So website content that’s accessible and easy to read will naturally reach a wider audience. Focus on using nouns and verbs; use adverbs and adjectives sparingly. Don’t use words like “equanimity” or “obfuscate” when words like “calm” or “confuse” will do.

Make a visual impression

Web copy and web design should work together. You can’t write your words, you can’t compose your sentences, you can create your bullet points, without considering how your web page will look. The visual appeal of your website impacts the readability of your text; and influences whether web visitors can quickly get what you’re about.

Expect people to arrive anywhere on your website

People usually read a book from chapter one, via chapter two to three and four etc. Now, imagine people pick up a book and start reading somewhere completely at random. Possibly at the beginning of the last chapter, maybe in the middle of chapter three, or at the last page of chapter one.

Happy Learning!

Anamika Gupta

IAAN