Writing Content for Websites

Writing content for the web is quite different from writing for other mediums such as paper. The following guidelines will help you with some of the most important things to bear in mind:

Be concise - pare down text, so that it is short and to the point. Web readers scan and do not read normally as with other mediums - help them get what they want from your page quickly!. This will also assist users in not having to scroll as much. A good rule of thumb is to write no more than 50 % of the text you would have used for traditional mediums.

Write for scan ability - don't require users to read long continuous blocks of text - structure content into sections with headings and subheads as required. Link these sections with Table of Contents and hyperlinks.

Be objective - avoid hype or promotional language - stick to the facts

Converse with your reader - use conversational tone where possible. This keeps content interesting and maintains attention.

Write in a linear fashion - split linear information into coherent chunks that each focus on a specific topic - connect these chunks by hypertext links. Keep a single topic on one page; split distinct topics to separate pages if needed

Link to related topics - but only where these are useful and relevant to the aims of reader

Important things first - the most important key point should come first on page. Then if people don't want to go further they have got the most important information they need.

Highlight main points in the beginning - use headlines and summary information at the top of the page

Make pages 'self-contained' - so if users arrive directly at your page via a Search Engine, visitors know where they are, what they are going to get and where they can go from here

Using Images
Images can be included in a web page. There are a number of factors to ensure that image use is appropriate.

Optimise them for faster downloading.

Edit them to remove unnecessary content.

Crop them for the best effect.

Change colour settings to improve the quality.

Select an appropriate image.

Have permission to use the image from the copyright holder.

Have permission to photograph the subject.

Save in a web format.