How to write for the Web
How do Web users read text?
Numerous studies show that Web users scan when they read text on the computer screen. The user glances over the text, searching for words and phrases which will provide the most essential information about the hotel. This is often done quickly and not word-for-word.
Why?
Because reading on a computer screen can be very unpleasant!
How should we write text so that it is read by Web users?
The following basic rules are recommended when writing for the Web:
- Use clear and simple language
- Write concisely
- Structure the text and make certain elements stand out
Simple, clear language
Studies show that texts are better received when they are written in an objective, direct and factual manner. Texts are less well-received when they contain puns or overly cute and complex formulations. Particularly unpopular is promotional writing, or “adspeak”, with its use of superlatives and excessive enthusiasm to make great promises.
Some tips for clear and simple writing:
- Use active verbs and avoid passive constructions
- Use simple sentence structures (subject, verb, object)
- Avoid useless filler words
- Do not use unknown or “hard” words
- Avoid abbreviations
Write concisely
The Internet is a “quick” medium and users must be able to quickly find the information they want.
We know what concise texts look like from other media sources:
- News briefs are used in newspapers, in the radio and on TV.
- Other concise texts that we know are the teaser articles which often appear on the front page of a newspaper, the teasers during a TV show about a report to be aired later, or the lead section of a newspaper article which briefly reviews the most important information of the longer, more in-depth report.
- Examples of even shorter texts include headlines, titles and captions.
From the field of journalism we know that the shortest texts are often the most difficult to write. Editors and journalists come up with headlines in a team, and often the editor-in-chief has the last word. This shows us the amount of work and diligence that goes into writing these kinds of text. The same is true when writing for the Web.
Structure the text and make certain elements stand out
Again, the field of journalism provides us with the simplest rule for structuring texts for the Web:
- Put the most important information first.
The reader wants to know in the first sentence what the text is about. All information relevant for understanding the text must be contained within the first few lines. In news journalism that means answering the most important “Wh questions”: Who? What? Where? When?
Other tools to structure your text are paragraphs and subheadings (frequently used in the print media as well). In the Web, bulleted lists, bold print and underlined hyperlinks are also used.
Writing for search engines: Writing keyword-rich content.
The difficult part of writing Web text is finding the right balance between search engine friendliness and customer friendliness. Both are equally important. The text should not sound clumsy or repetitive and it should be meaningful and make sense. For search engines, a keyword should appear about once in every twelve words. It is important, however, to avoid overusing keywords, as search engines may identify this as “keyword stuffing” or “spamdexing”, which is punished by a lower ranking or even removal of the web pages from indexing. The first word on a web page should be a keyword as search engines encounter these first.
Choosing keywords
Choosing the right keywords can be a relatively difficult and time-consuming task. Use word combinations/compounds: It is important to remember that a keyword can be a word, a phrase or a combination of words. For example, the keyword “windows” will provide millions of hits and a new website will have no chance of even making it into the top 100. You stand to improve your chances if you combine the word “windows” with the word “optimization”, for example. The goal is to find the right phrases or combination of words which people tend to look for more often but which provide as few hits as possible.
Avoid standard words: Don’t use words like “and” in your keywords. Search engines ignore words like these as they would otherwise be identified as a keyword on nearly every page in the Web. Combine words directly and avoid conjunctions or combining prepositions if at all possible.
For example: Instead of “optimisation of windows” write “windows optimisation”.
Writing with Structure
When conveying information, use the news style of putting the most important and newest information first.
Words:
- Appropriate, concise and clear choice of words
- Use familiar words.
- Avoid long words whenever possible.
- Split long words where possible to keep the writing from becoming stretched.
Sentences:
- Try to use short sentences. In general, the shorter the sentences, the easier it is to understand a text.
- Avoid complicated sentence structures and use the active voice as much as possible.
- Pay attention to sentence rhythm. Too many short sentences in a row make a text seem asthmatic and dull.
Paragraphs:
- Chunk information into short paragraphs. Crowded text is hard on the eyes, and it is recommendable to divide the text into parts.
- Structure paragraphs in a meaningful way. Limit a paragraph to just one idea or topic.
- Headlines
- Informative headlines help readers to orient themselves. Headlines structure the text and let the user more easily grasp the content.
- Alternative: highlight keywords or key sentences in bold print.
Lists:
- Lists are more clearly laid out than continuous text and allow readers to more quickly find the information they want.
- Lists should not be too long. An ideal list contains a maximum of five to seven entries.
Links:
- Links are extremely important as integral parts of the Web medium. A text with too many links, however, does not flow well. Only use links where it absolutely makes sense. It is often better to include a list of links at the end of an article.
- Links provide extra description and commentary, and users should know why they are being asked to take the time for an aside.
Again, limit yourself to one topic per paragraph in order to better organise the content of Web text. In this way, information is more concentrated and the text is more easily read and understood. Naturally, this also requires content to be structured accordingly.
Happy Texting!
