7 Ways To Writing Effective Web Content

The style of writing for printed media is often inappropriate to the needs and habits of web users, so developing content for a website/blog usually means writing new material.

Listed below are a few pointers you should keep in mind

(1) Make it scannable

Users don’t read websites, but scan them for the information they want. Use headings, bulleted lists, and emphasis to draw attention to key points

(2) Be concise

Reading from a screen is much slower than reading from paper, and many users don’t like having to scroll down. Aim to write 50% less text than you would for a printed publication

(3) Start strongly

Summarise the main points of the page in the first paragraph. This could also be stats information relating to your topic.

(4) Be clear

Keep sentences simple, paragraphs short, and avoid jargons

(5) Be friendly

Address the user as ‘you’ and keep the tone warm, polite, and personable

(6) Make links meaningful

‘click here’ gives the user no idea of what to expect, and is of no help to a blind or partially sighted user viewing the site with a screen reader

(7) Write good headlines

This is normally the first thing readers see either via your blog or RSS reader.
- this gets them through the door.

Have I missed any? Over to you