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ADAM McFARLAND
Writing for the Web
Have you ever tried to read your local newspaper online?
How about the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal?
It just isn't the same.
Do you know why? Because articles meant for print don't
translate well to the web, and the rules that apply to writing
content for the internet are different than those for print. What
constitutes quality content offline does not necessarily constitute
quality content online.
How the web is different
Text is hard to read
Typical computer monitors have a resolution of 96 dpi
(dots per inch). Compare that with a printout from a laser
printer that has a resolution of 600 dpi, or a magazine
page that can be upwards of 2400 dpi, and it's not hard
to figure out why the text on a computer places a strain on
the eyes. According to the book Hot Text – Web
Writing That Works, by Jonathan and Lisa Price,
“because text is more difficult to read on-screen, people
often read slower, comprehend less, recall less, and do
less in response.”
Words can be linked to other pages and sources
The closest thing you're going to get to a link in a newspaper
is when a story is split into two sections and you're told the
story is continued on page 9. But when it comes to the web,
words and images can be linked to other web pages, photos,
videos, sounds, and a myriad of other things. Being able to
link is the primary tool that web writers can take advantage
of that print writers don't have at their disposal.
How you should write
Write less
Because of the strain placed on readers when reading on
a computer screen, you can't expect them to read a 5,000
word article. Research has shown that most readers tend
to scan an article before reading.Articles longer than 1,000
words will likely turn off your audience and result in few
people reading your article (and therefore fewer visitors
coming back to your site in the future). You should
condense your writing to include only the most crucial
points and eliminate everything else. Writing successfully
for the web forces you to present only the necessary
content and leave the rest out.
Utilize headings and lists
Since people tend to scan web articles as opposed to
reading them from the first word to the final word, you
should make it easy for them to find what they're looking
for by using headings, bold type, and lists. A great way
to turn a print article into a readable web article is to
transform it into a top 10 list. Lists make it easy for
readers to scan and read only in what they have interest.
Use plenty of links and make them obvious
Since linking is the primary advantage of a web writer, it
should be used early and often. Linking allows you to
provide the reader with a roadmap of information. With
your article as a starting point, your reader should be able
to find more information about any and all topics discussed
in the article. Common things to link to include reference
pages, news sources, audio and video, forums, and
applications that will enhance the reading experience.
The best thing about links is that the user can choose
which ones to follow and which ones to ignore. That
allows you to reference something without citing the
entire thing as you would have to in a print article.
One of the most important things to remember when
linking is to make it visually obvious that a section of
text is a link. Five years ago it was common place to
use the standard blue underlined text for linking, but
as the web has evolved, most designers have abandoned
that style for better looking links. Site designers can
still make links obvious by consistently using a different
color than standard text and by providing a hover effect,
such as underlining the link and changing it's color, when
users place their cursor over the link. This subconsciously
tells them that the text is a link.
Write with the search engines in mind
Since much of the content on the web is found via search,
it makes sense to write with the search engines in mind. No,
this doesn't mean that you should stuff your articles with
keywords to the point where they are barely readable.
But it does mean that you should write titles and headings
that actually convey what your article discusses. For example,
this article could be called “Content Evolution” or “Digital
Distribution.” If it were a magazine article, those titles or
other titles might have been more appealing, but they don't
capture the essence of the article, which is “Writing for the
Web.” If someone were to search for an article on writing
online, they'd likely use a phrase like “how to write for the
web” or “writing practices for the web” which would turn
up this article, but probably wouldn't turn up an article with
one of those other titles.
Price, Jonathan, and Lisa Price. Hot Text - Web
Writing That Works. Indiana: New Riders, 2002.
©2006 ADAM McFARLAND |
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