Writing for the web: An Overview

Producing a website that will achieve its objectives depends not only on slick presentation, clear navigation and useful functionality, but also on its content.

Well written content directly results in substantially increased usability – and without wishing to state the obvious, easy to use websites allow users to achieve the task they visited the website for, resulting in a more positive user experience.

Put simply, usability contributes to:

  • Happier users
  • Positive connotations about your brand
  • Higher response levels
  • Increased sales (where applicable)

How users read on the Web:
According to industry experts, they don't. The key points about the way users extract information through the web are that:

  • Users scan pages, picking out individual words and sentences
  • Credibility is important for web users
  • Users detest promotional writing with subjective claims

How to produce user friendly content for the web:
Some guidelines:

STYLE & TONE

  • Simple & informal writing are preferred
  • Humour should be used with caution – who is your audience?

TEXT SHOULD BE ‘SCANNABLE’:

  • Use highlighted keywords
  • Sub headings should be meaningful
  • Bulleted lists allow users to extract important information quickly
  • Limit each paragraph to one main idea

At UntiedShoes*, I pride myself on the help and advice I offer my clients. I hope this article has proved useful?

Notes:
If you would like to feature this article on your website, you may, though please place a link back to me and let me know. Here's the code:

<a href="http://www.untiedshoes.co.uk" title="Professional freelance website design in Sunderland">Original Article by Freelance website designer UntiedShoes</a>


 

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