Tips For Writing on the Web

What is your goal when writing on the web?  Is it to showcase your intelligence or is it to inform people of interesting or helpful facts to a specific group?  Knowing the audience in which you are writing for is imperative for success. Below is a an article for advice on writing on the web.



Most users visit a web page for 10-15 seconds. In that brief time, 80% will skim the page for keywords they already have in mind. Therefore, before you begin writing web content, it’s important to understand your audience and anticipate what content and keywords they’re trying to find.

Adhering to the following guidelines will improve your web content:

1. Make your text easy to scan

• Put the most important information at the top of the page.
• Use plenty of embedded links, subheadings, bullets, lists, anchors, etc., to break up your text.
• Use tables, numbers, and charts to convey information visually when you can.

2. Cut your content down to basics

The biggest mistake writers of web content make is providing too much content and introductory text. In general, cut your print text by at least 50% and use the following guidelines:

• Web writing should be clear, concise, and direct.
• Write at a 6th- to 8th-grade reading level.
• Always try to write in first or second person.
• Whenever possible, stick to facts.
• Use active verbs and concrete words whenever possible.
• Try to avoid jargon, abbreviations, technical terms, and cleverness.
• Keep paragraphs short and stick to one main point at a time.
• Sentence structure should be simple and varied.

3. Write accessible link phrases

Accessible link phrases should differentiate links on the same page and be understood easily when read out of context. In general, links should:

• be brief and descriptive
• provide information even when read out of context
• explain what the link offers
• not deal with the mechanics of the site
• not include phrases such as, "Click here for more info"
• identify a new document type if not html (i.e. PDF, DOC, XLS)

4. Write short headlines

Users can generally only process several words at once, so generallyshorter headlines are better.
   Headlines should:
            



Headlines should:

• be concise and direct
• be able to stand on their own or be understood out of context
• avoid jargon, abbreviations, cleverness, and technical terms
• be search engine friendly. Visit our SEO Guidelines for more information.

https://itservices.uchicago.edu/page/writing-web