Web Writing Tips & Resources
Write Easy-to-Skim Text
Writing for the web is different from writing for other media. Users expect, and want, to find the information they seek as quickly as possible. In addition, even very nice monitors cause eyestrain, especially with long documents. For these reasons, web surfers generally skim web pages, rather than reading them deeply. To write effectively for a web audience a writer must provide the users with the easy-to-skim pages they want while providing the rich content needed when a user actually reads a page thoroughly.
Write Search Engine Friendly Pages
The web writer must also create pages which are friendly to search engines. This is accomplished by identifying appropriate search phrases for the page and then working those unaltered phrases into the text a natural number of times. It is generally recommended that one should use 2 or 3 search phrases per page and use each phrase 5 or 6 times within a page. When the search engines visit a page they recognize that certain phrases are repeated and will index the page for those phrases.
Tips for Effective Web Writing
- Use plain language
- Write short paragraphs
- Include bullets and headlines
- Use a page title that describes the page, not the site
- Repeat targeted search phrases in a natural way
See Also:
Here are some additional resources for writing for the web. Each of these is an offsite link.
Additional Information on Effective Writing for the Web
- Write for Easy Skim-Reading On-screen
- Information Architecture Versus Graphic Design
- Keep the Content Fresh!
- Ten Ideas For Creating Effective Web Content
- Language: The Ultimate User Interface
- Writing & Editing Web Content
Style and Word Usage
- OneLook Dictionary Search
- Common Errors in English
- The Word Spy
- Web Style Guide
- Word Choice: The American Heritage Book of English Usage
- William Strunk, Jr. - The Elements of Style
- Guide to Grammar and Style
Reference and Research
- Babel Fish Translation
- Searchable Quotations
- Everybody's Legal Glossary
- Encyclopedia.com
- The Digital Millennium Copyright Act PDF
- How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory
- Nua Internet Surveys: Internet Surveys, Demographics, Statistics and Market Research
Additional Articles on Writing for the Web
- Writing Web Sites for a Global Audience
- Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web)
- Writing For The Web: Where To Get Article Ideas
- Writing For The Web: More Places To Get Ideas
- AP Chief: Future Of News Online
- Concrete Writing