Writing for the web is just ultra good practice. There are many good writing guidelines on the web and some published style guides which you may already be using. The web just requires you to turn it up a notch.
Use plain english
The individuals in your audience are not all the same:
- people have different literacy levels
- english isn't everyone's first language
- some people may have special language requirements
- some people will be experts in your field
- many won't have a clue what you do or understand your acronyms or jargon.
One thing they will have in common is that they are all straining to read your content on some sort of screen and want you to make it as painless as possible. If you write for the lowest common demoninator, you make things easier for everyone.
The Plain English Campaign publish some free guides to writing in plain english.
Use your readers' words
Users search how they speak and type straightforward words or phrases into search engines. Use their words in your writing and your articles are far more likely to match what they're searching for.
Jargon and acronym tolerance on the web is lower than print. Don't use acronyms unless you explain what they are - use links, information in mouse hovers to explain acronyms as they may not have read the earlier instance which you've explained.
Consider this piece of jargon:
"High quality learning environments are a necessary precondition for facilitation and enhancement of the ongoing learning process"
There's a few things wrong with it:
- Isn't a "high quality learning environment" the same thing as a "good school?"
- Isn't a parent more likely to type "how can I find a good school?" into Google?
- Wouldn't it be much more effective to readers (and for Google) if it said
"Children need good schools if they are to learn properly" as it contains plenty of keywords in the readers' own language?
Now consider if your own writing is guilty of the same crimes.
Reading aloud can help you write in a more web friendly style. Read it back to yourself, to family or a friend - does it make sense or does it sound wrong or complicated? If so, simplify it.
Be a friend
The web is a conversational medium, especially with the rise in popularity of social media and content sharing. People are interested in what others are doing, their likes and dislikes etc.
Out in the real world we're friends with the people that consider our needs and who don’t talk endlessly about themselves. We see these friends regularly and we hope to see our readers regularly too.
Be as informal as possible when refering to yourself and the organisation you work for. Refer to
- yourself as me and I,
- your organisation as we and us, and
- your reader as you.
Don't say things like "The Example Foundation invites you to our latest fundraising event."
Write in an Inverted Pyramid style
Traditional methods of writing, taught to us from the early days of school, is to introduce a topic and talk about its background before we delve into the most importnat aspects. A firm conclusion is also seen as an important part of any piece of writing.
If we were to colour areas of a piece of writing according to importance and relative interest (by darkness) it would look something like this:
As you can see, the most important part of the piece (coloured red) occurs later, further down the page.
On the web, users tend to only read the first paragraph fully (according to the F pattern findings), so you should consider starting your article with the most important content.
Journalists call this the "inverted pyramid" and the media has used it for some time. Wired News and the BBC are two examples of websites which use this technique.
The content of an inverted pyramid consists mainly of a main point, followed by supporting information, then the history or background information. Using this method, a reader who chooses only to read the first page of a three page article is not left at a disadvantage. The background information on subsequent pages is just a reward to those interested enough to read on.
One idea per paragraph
If the reader sees an irrelevant bit of info at the start of a paragraph they will skip the rest of the paragraph.
Keep to one idea or concept per paragraph and make your point at the beginning of that paragraph - remember the F-shape reading pattern.
Be generous with headings
After the first paragraph, people tend to skim read the rest of the page scanning for key words in paragraphs or in headings. Use plenty of headings - not only does it offer useful visual cues to the reader but it also helps break up blocks of text.
Google also places importance on words used in headings, which it uses to understand the main points of your article and the relevance of the words you use.
It’s really important to get the title of your page and the subheadings right.Writing headlines is an artform in itself and there are lots of blog posts and guides on the subject, but essentially
- Keep headings brief
- make them relevant to the subject matter which follows
- use the main keywords contained in the text that follows
- make them descriptive, clear an simple. Google doesn't "get" puns, so don't try to be clever, just be factual.
The main title is usually displayed on your search result page, so write your headline to be seen out of context. Does it make sense when it stands alone? If not, rewrite it so the reader knows exactly what they can expect to read underneath that headline.
Edit, then edit again
People read 25% slower on the web than in print. Combined with the additional physical stress of reading on a backlit display, you should keep your articles as short as possible - try and use 50% less words than you would in print, but make sure it's the most important 50%!
The word count for the web is: not a word less than you need, and not a word more.
Have one clear call to action
To achieve your aims for the content you're writing you need one clear call to action, to focus the reader's attention.
Without next steps, readers will get to the end of your article and will often click the browser's "Back" button or close the window unless you provide something else for them to do.
You'll want to keep readers on your website as long as you can if you hope to engage and convert them, so provide as many opportunities as you can to get them involved, whether it's signup up for a newsletter, signing a petition or just reading a related article.
Get your spelling right
Bad spelling can have a negative impact on your credibility as an authority about your topic. Would you trust a letting agent who can't spell "accommodation"?
Google hates bad spelling too. It allows for some common typographical errors, but consistently bad spelling could be misinterpreted as spam or junk pages and could get your pages de-listed.
Also, if you consistently mis-spell your keywords, your page won’t appear in search engine results pages for the properly spelled keywords.
Use links
Links help you corroborate your facts and help increase the reader's trust in you by offering them the opportunity to check out your sources.
Links are also a great way to provide interested readers with further information about a topic. If they're interested enough to be reading your article, they may be interested enough to read about a topic in more detail.
Don’t hyperlink the words "click here" - readers using assistive technologies will not get the best experience from your website as links are often listed together at the end of a page. If a screen reader reads "click here" seventeen times, you'll have one unhappy website user, could lose them forever and could even be in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.
Use links at the end of sentences where possible, so that the reader gets the full meaning of what you're saying before they click elsewhere.
Don't use too many links. Use them when it helps get your message across or when it's not practical to go into too much detail in your current article.
Because they are formatted differently to normal body text (links are often underlined, blod or coloured differently), they act as unintentional emphasis, so make sure you're highlighting the right words and therefore emphasising the right points.
Next: Step 3: Publish