Subscribe
Monday, December 21, 2009
Writing for the web: What entrepreneurs need to know
Creating good content for your website is the essential and most overlooked aspect of website design. Many people focus on the aesthetic aspects of a site without thinking on what they want to say an how they want to say it. Many people assume that the same words that work for print campaigns or materials can just be copied and pasted for the web, but that’s just not true. Research indicates that users read hypertext very differently than printed information. Here are four rules for writing for the web.
1. Know Your Objective
One advantage to writing for a website is that it websites are divided into a series of pages, each of which is designed to convey a specific piece of information. When writing an individual page you need to know what purpose that page serves within the overall context of the site. Once you know the objective, you’ll be able to more clearly articulate what you need to get across to your customers in your copy, and you’ll be able to eliminate any text that does not support the objective.
2. Know Your Audience
This should be the the guiding principle behind all aspects of your web design. You need to know who your customer is and what information they will be looking for on your website. Knowing your audience and understanding what they are looking for and help you with the next rule as well.
3. Keep it Short
Studies have found that the more words you add to a web page the less time people spend reading it. A general rule of thumb is to use half the words that you use in printed material when writing for the web. One study found that users only spend about 4.4 seconds on a page for every 100 words of content. That suggests that if you keep your content as short as possible. Ideally you should limit yourself to one idea per paragraph (users will usually skip over any additional ideas). Additionally, you should start your paragraphs with the conclusion, then add details.
4. Make it Scannable
According to Jacob Nielsen's Alertbox people rarely read websites word by word; instead they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences. In research on how people read websites Nielsen found that 79 percent of our test users always scanned any new page they came across; only 16 percent read word-by-word. As a result you need to make your website scannable this includes:
Research suggests that website visitors do not like sites that use a promotional writing style with boastful subjective claims ("hottest ever"). Web users are seeking straightforward honest information when they are browsing the web and are more likely to trust sites that use neutral objective language.
Customizing your writing style specifically for the web can dramatically improve the usability of your website. It can make users read more of your content, improving the likelihood users will act on the information they find.
-----------------------------------
References:
Jacob Nielsen, How Users Read on the Web, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
Josh Catone, 5 Rules for Better Web Writing, http://mashable.com/2009/09/08/web-writing/
1. Know Your Objective
One advantage to writing for a website is that it websites are divided into a series of pages, each of which is designed to convey a specific piece of information. When writing an individual page you need to know what purpose that page serves within the overall context of the site. Once you know the objective, you’ll be able to more clearly articulate what you need to get across to your customers in your copy, and you’ll be able to eliminate any text that does not support the objective.
2. Know Your Audience
This should be the the guiding principle behind all aspects of your web design. You need to know who your customer is and what information they will be looking for on your website. Knowing your audience and understanding what they are looking for and help you with the next rule as well.
3. Keep it Short
Studies have found that the more words you add to a web page the less time people spend reading it. A general rule of thumb is to use half the words that you use in printed material when writing for the web. One study found that users only spend about 4.4 seconds on a page for every 100 words of content. That suggests that if you keep your content as short as possible. Ideally you should limit yourself to one idea per paragraph (users will usually skip over any additional ideas). Additionally, you should start your paragraphs with the conclusion, then add details.
4. Make it Scannable
According to Jacob Nielsen's Alertbox people rarely read websites word by word; instead they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences. In research on how people read websites Nielsen found that 79 percent of our test users always scanned any new page they came across; only 16 percent read word-by-word. As a result you need to make your website scannable this includes:
- Highlight keywords (hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others)
- Use meaningful sub-headings (not "clever" ones)
- Use bulleted lists
Research suggests that website visitors do not like sites that use a promotional writing style with boastful subjective claims ("hottest ever"). Web users are seeking straightforward honest information when they are browsing the web and are more likely to trust sites that use neutral objective language.
Customizing your writing style specifically for the web can dramatically improve the usability of your website. It can make users read more of your content, improving the likelihood users will act on the information they find.
-----------------------------------
References:
Jacob Nielsen, How Users Read on the Web, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
Josh Catone, 5 Rules for Better Web Writing, http://mashable.com/2009/09/08/web-writing/
Labels: website tips, writing
