Writing For The Web

As you can imagine, writing for the internet is different than writing for other mediums like print. Although the basics like grammar don’t change all that much, there are a few things that are generally considered proper when you’re writing online.

Watch Out For Repurposing

Of course a lot of people who write web content get their sources from print and other media, but it is generally not acceptable to just cut and paste a document and change a few words so it can pass Copyscape. Everything that you see written on the Internet comes from somewhere but you need to add a bit of flair to it and a personal touch.

As well, you need to lay it out a little differently when it’s going to be online so the content is visually appealing. One of the first things you’ll need to remember as a general rule is the fact paragraphs need to be shorter online than they are in print. Now while there are a few exceptions, people are more intimidated by large blocks of type in cyberspace.

Layout And Design.

It’s important to remember the layout and design are critical factors on the Internet. Make sure that you pick a suitable font size for whatever you are writing because one of the first attractions people have to any body of text is visual. Remember that for most readers a text will appear as a visual block before they even start reading.

That’s where bullet points and subheads become especially useful for longer pieces. They break the information up into easily digestible chunks.

Meta Content

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It’s important to remember that thanks to a lot of the broadcast media we’ve grown up with people have shorter attention spans now. That means that the subheaders and headlines needs to encapsulate a large part of the meaning of what will follow. It’s also good to consider proper seo elements like keywords that can help with much needed page rankings.

Remember that it’s also a good idea to use links in you web content. There’s an old adage on the Internet that 100% of the Web content out there today is created by 25% of the people. It’s also good to keep in mind that people like to interact with the Web and they enjoy links that can take them from point A to point B rather than have you explain it all to them.

Use The Inverted Pyramid

Not everything about content writing is new. Using the old newspaper inverted pyramid style is a great way to ensure that people who just scan through the web get all the most important information at the top of your story.

And of course you want to have compelling writing no matter what particular project you’re working on. It’s always best if you use the active voice and remember to be as consistent as possible through the entire text.

Written by Rob Starr from Rob Starr
Posted on June 27th, 2010 and filed under Blogging
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