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Writing content for the web

Make the word count about half the word count used when writing for print.
Put the most important information at the top.
Credibility is important on the web. You have to work to earn the user's trust, which is rapidly lost if you use exaggerated claims or overly boastful language; avoid "marketese" in favour of a more objective style.
A few hyperlinks to other sites with supporting information increase the credibility of your pages. If at all possible, link quotes from magazine reviews and other articles to the source.
The web is an informal and immediate medium, compared to print, so users appreciate a somewhat informal writing style and small amounts of humour.
Do not use clever headings since users rely on scanning to pick up the meaning of the text. Limit the use of metaphors, particularly in headings: Users might take you literally.
Use simple sentence structures: Convoluted writing and complex words are even harder to understand online.
Users can enter a site at any page and move between pages as they chose, so make every page independent and explain its topic without assumptions about the previous page seen by the user.
Link to background or explanatory information to help users who do not have the necessary knowledge to understand or use the page.

To make keywords stand out, use highlighting liberally: Highlight about three times as many words as you would when writing for print.
Highlight only key information-carrying words.
Each paragraph should contain one main idea; use a second paragraph for a second idea, since users tend to skip any second point as they scan over the paragraph.
Start the page with the conclusion as well as a short summary of the remaining contents ("inverted pyramid" style).

GUIDELINES FROM Sun Microsystems