Writing for the Web

How people read web content

• Web users are task oriented. In a hurry.
• They scan rather than read.
• Therefore, the best strategy for writing web content is to make it scanable.
• Most of what follows is based on this premise.

Cut your content by half

• A good rule of thumb — Web content should only be half as much as print counterparts.
• Start by eliminating hype, spin, marketing jargon.

Use the inverted pyramid approach

• Think newspaper article. Think press release.
• Put the most important information at the beginning, leave the least important for last.
• Nobody's going to to read the last part anyway. (How often do you finish a newspaper article?)

One idea per paragraph

• Readers typically only read the first or second sentence in a paragraph. Second or third ideas will be missed.
• Keep paragraphs short.
• Use simple sentence structures.

Use headings

• Headings make your content easy to scan
• Readers can quickly get the gist of the content
• Readers can quickly find the information that is most useful to them

Use bulleted lists

• Sentences containing lists should be rendered as bulleted lists
• Use numbered lists when instructions are being given in sequential order

Use intuitive link text

• Readers' eyes are drawn to links when scanning
• Link text should be intuitive, describing what information the reader will get if the link is followed
• Never use "click here" as link text

Additional Resources

• How Users Read the Web
  http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
• Writing for the Web
  http://www.usability.gov/design/writing4web.html