Writing for the Web
The style of writing used on a website is
different from that used in print media. People seem to scan pages rather than
reading them. Reading from the monitor is tiring for the eyes and is about 25%
slower than reading printed material. The Internet is so full of information
that the reader will may move on to another site quickly, so information needs
to be easily accessible.
When writing copy for your site, certain writing
techniques can create and hold your visitor's interest. Don't worry about those
techniques on the fist draft. It is as if you write with your right hand and
edit with your left hand. Let that right hand write before your left hand grabs
it by the wrist and starts to edit and revise.
Your on-line audience is frequently comprised of
the same people you would find reading print material, but people do not read
the same way on-line as they do in print. Some of the differences are
physical. The monitor height and resolution can affect your eyes and change the
way you read. We are less inclined to blink while looking at a monitor. This
is likely to make the person not stay on the page as long as they might with a
brochure or print newsletter, so you need to get your point across very
quickly.
Position
Position your text with the most
important information at the top. Use the example of newspapers by putting the
most important information "above the fold". in Internet jargon, this would be
in the first screen of the page. Another thing you see in newspapers is a
narrow column. This is even more critical with the wider computer screens we
are seeing these days.
Of course, in Web site design
you don't want multiple columns so your reader has to move up and down the
page. You might even use photographs of your jewelry as separators between the
text to accentuate the jewelry and make the text more readable.
Editing your Writing
Print out your pages to be
edited and proofread. This will help you be more accurate. It should go
without saying that bad grammar, punctuation errors, misspelled words and
typographical errors definitely cut into your credibility.
When you have the page printed
out, gloss the paragraphs. This means that you write one word describing the
subject of each paragraph. This will help you be assured that the paragraphs
are in the order you want them and that each paragraph contains only one
topic. Use a marker and underline all of your keywords to check the
density. You need between 5% and 8% keyword density to attain a good
position in the search engines at this writing, but this could change. You
will find links to keyword density tools if you check the search engines.
When you edit and revise do so ruthlessly. Your words are not golden,
your ideas are.
Louise Coulson © 2007
Used with permission of the author
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