It's hard to believe now, but did you know that
in 1993 there were only about 50 web sites!
Today that number is estimated to be over two
billion and increasing exponentially. That makes
for a lot of reading and a lot of writing - both
good and bad.
So how do you make sure that the material on
your business web site gets read? Don't worry.
There are in fact several ways to help keep
people who stop by to visit your site.
Viewing web sites has been likened to
watching a commercial on television. Visitors
want to get the information quickly and move on.
If they can't find what they are looking for
fast, they will click out and move on to another
web page.
One of the fundamental points to
understand is that most people scan web sites
instead of reading them word for word as they
would a printed document. This means that you
have to adjust your writing to this.
Like any good copywriting, your text should be
short and simple. By boldfacing or highlighting
certain key words in your text you are drawing
more attention to them. As your reader scans and
locks onto these keywords you now have their
attention. The bolded text will slow them down
and make them take notice of that particular word.
Another suggestion is to break long blocks of
text into shorter pieces. These blocks of text
ideally should contain only one idea. You should
do this even if it means adding another page or
so to your web site. The text then won't appear
so intimidating. It will also give the viewer's
eyes a momentary and welcome break in their
scanning.
Use headers and subheads as mini introductions
to the shorter blocks of content on your web
pages. You'll be helping the web site reader out
by giving them a brief overview of what will
follow. This will allow them to grasp the
significance and relationship of the text in
connection with the page.
Lists of
information should be bulleted to draw attention
to each particular item in the list. Again, this
avoids the possibility that the list will merely
be scanned instead of having each item read.
The use of hyperlinks tends to add more validity
to a web site's structure (hyperlinks are words
which the viewer can click on that allows them
to be taken to another site providing more
information about the topic). It is important to
continually check these links to make sure that
the linked sites are up and running. The same
rule applies to any links that you may provide
on your Links page. There is nothing more
frustrating for a reader than to click on a dead
or broken link.
As with any writing, certain basics
also apply to writing for the web.
Check, double check, and re-check spelling on
your web site. We all know not to completely
rely on the Spell and Grammar Checker, which
will allow wrong words that are correctly
spelled to be included. One trick is to read
each web page backwards, starting at the bottom
of the page and proceeding, line by line, to the
top.
Despite the temptation to do
otherwise, follow the KISS rule (Keep It Short
and Simple) when writing for the web. Readers
have become savvy and will instantly recognize
exaggerated claims and a hard selling style for
what they are.Finally, avoid overly technical
jargon that may sound impressive to you, but
will confuse and lose the reader.
So
as you can see, even though our modes of
communication are rapidly changing, good writing
will always be around.
Gerard Bullard
is an award-winning freelance copywriter. His
work has been featured in print, television, and
on the web. Gerard has most recently been
contracted to teach a course on marketing and
business writing at the Goggleworks Center for
the Arts in Reading. He can be reached at (610)
944-7672, or at www.jerrybullard.com.
... END OF
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