Writing for the Web Part III
You are reading the third part of a four part series on Writing for the Web.
These writing techniques will help make your website content more understandable
and accessible to your site visitors. The writing skills you learn to help
improve your reader's experience will help keep your audience on your site and
improve your rate of repeat visitors.
On Writing Better
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Be as specific as possible. Give measurements, color, durability,
where to wear it, how to wear it, etc.
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The screen they see your site on is the same screen they work on,
so your content may seem to be more personal.
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Write as if you were talking with your site visitor directly. This
will help develop your own "voice" as a writer.
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Write everything you are thinking so you don't lose ideas. You
can edit later.
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Don't worry about punctuation and spelling on a first draft. You
will have a chance to fix those problems later.
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Think about what the reader is looking for when they are reading
your work. What problem does the reader have that you can solve. (ex. a
Mother's Day gift that will bring gratitude and approval from Mom.)
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Organize your thoughts with an outline before you start writingWhen you have written your paragraphs, read each paragraph and
write a one word subject beside the paragraph. This will help you know if you
have at least one subject in your paragraph and not two or three.
Editing Yourself
Editing yourself is not easy.
Having worked for editors in the past, I have wished for an editor several times
while writing ShowCase. Of course, the day you write your content, you will
think it is perfect. Here are a few editing tips that may help with this
sometimes uncomfortable process.
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Let your piece cool off for a day before you start to rewrite.
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Save your each draft under a separate name.
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First rewrites can be done right on the computer.
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Use the computer's ***** to highlight words or phrases you are not
sure about, so you can come back and rewrite later. Make comments about issues you are not sure of between a row of
stars.
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After the first rewrite and seconds, print the work out and wait
a couple of days before you do your third rewrite.
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Read your piece aloud. This will help you find sentence
fragments, grammatical errors and other grammar problems.
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When you are changing only one word or two in a rewrite, your piece is probably
finished and ready to published.
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Cut any unnecessary verbiage.
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Your words are not written in stone. The idea is what is
important, not the exact wording. If someone else reads your work and doesn't
understand what you have said, rewrite until it works.
Louise Coulson © 2007
Used with permission of the author
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