Writing content for the web
The facts…
- 79% of users always scan; only 16% read word-by-word
- Reading from computer screens is 25% slower than from paper
- Web content should be 50% the size of its paper equivalent
Guidelines
- 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.
How to make your pages scannable
- 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