Writing for the Web requires adapting traditional journalistic writing styles to cater to a global audience interested in quick, informative content.
Effective web content includes using lists and tables, consistent voice and person, appropriate formatting, and avoiding slang or regional language. Numbers should be written out in words for 1-9, while higher numbers can be written numerically with commas for readability. Parentheses should be avoided unless necessary for informal writing.
Writing for the Web requires some morphing of traditional journalistic writing styles. Whenever possible, a web writer should at least provide a few crumbs of factual information in the first paragraph to satisfy the little skimmers. Many internet users are interested in quickly gathering the most pertinent facts, so the writer shouldn’t hold those facts, hostage until the final paragraph. Improve your writing skills by learning from the best practices listed in this free guide.
Person
Consistency in persona and voice is an essential consideration in web writing. When in doubt as to which voice and persona is appropriate for the content of a specific website, a writer should review that website closely or consult the owner or publisher—using the first-person “I” voice may sound too personal or informal on an informational website while using the less private “he, she, him” third-person voice may not say intimate enough for a review website. Using the second person dominant voice, “Implied You”, is generally ideal for how-to articles, but one of these days, Implied You might reach its breaking point from all those commands, and then where will you be? Editor of the website.
The first-person voice works best when the writer needs to inject their feelings, experiences, or opinions into the piece to reach readers: “I didn’t understand the casting of Don Knotts as James Bond, but I still enjoyed the action sequences.” action, and I would definitely recommend the 3D experience to anyone.” or “I thought building a thermonuclear reactor in my basement would be an exciting weekend project, but sadly I was wrong.”
The first person should only be used when the writer’s identity and credentials add to the article’s scope.
Whether it uses an implied “you” or you, the second-person voice works best with instructions and other demonstrative articles. The author’s voice of experience often hides behind the imperative sentences: “You should always remember to update your will and complete an organ donor card before moving on to the next step.” or “Keep the ladder stable while a more trained professional takes over.” Second-person voice is acceptable for some types of content writing but still considered too casual for most informational websites.
Most of the website’s formal content is written in the third person, which allows the writer to distance himself from the piece. Encyclopedic or scholarly articles written for informational websites almost always use a third-person voice because the writer’s carefully considered opinions and thoughts rarely reach the squat level. A web writer must stay consistent with the third-person voice throughout an informational article since the reader could quickly get confused whenever a stray “you” or “I” pops into the picture without warning. A writer can still use direct first-person quotes, but the rest of the article should remain consistent.
Brackets
Parentheses (those cupped lines that capture short sentences) should be avoided. If some part of the content is not necessary, leave it out (of the document), or if it’s essential, it deserves its statement (and doesn’t deserve to be relegated to In some instances, a parenthetical thought isn’t practical, but this is generally limited to info its first-person writing.
Many parenthetical thoughts can be emphasized by commas instead of parentheses, a very radical grammatical concept, but they should still be used sparingly in formal writing on the Web. The cumulative”effect of too many parenthetical thoughts is an uncomfortable feeling that is two different writers at work: one who gives the reader the stark truth (loses the idea) and another who can’t resist undermining his integrity through sarcastic comments (wait, he’s talking about me now). Unless a Web writer can write informally, the thoughts in parentheses should be minimized or eliminate quotation marks
Quotes are used to designate content attributable so someone else or highlight a particular word used to define something. “Quote marks” should not be ” “used” “o “distance” from some co”tent or t” “emphasize” “something”.
Lists and Tables
- Using lists and tables is highly recommended as they make the content easier to digest.
- Excessive use of lists/tables can make more complex stitches challenging to come up with.
- Ensure your content looks its best with a list/table before using it.
Lists and bullet points are most effective when there is a list inherent in the article. A list of ingredients, including quantities and preparation methods, would be beneficial at the start of a cooking article. A list of parts, tools, and supplies needed to complete a home improvement project would also be helpful in a how-to article. However, suppose your ingredients list only consists of a slice of bread, a toaster, and electricity. In that case, it might be easier to incorporate those items into the body of the paragraphs, perhaps with bold or italics for emphasis: Put the bread in the toaster, then locate the fire extinguisher.
Spelling
Homynym spelling mistakes may be the worst type because they indicate straightening. Spelling can make your content difficult to understand. Basic errors also imply that you don’t care much about your writing, so why should you be a reader?
Let’s try again, shall we? Spelling mistakes instantly convert quality writing into writing that wants to be good but can’t help. Perhaps the best form of spelling error prevention is a fresh look from a second set of eyes. Using a spell checker should help weed the apparent wheat from the chaff, but don’t rely on any spell can’t for complete accuracy.
Formatting
ALL CAPS IS NEVER APPROPRIATE. The occasional use of bold, italics, or underlining is welcome, but excessive use is highly discouraged. Highlighting particular phrases or keywords is helpful, but using this too frequently tends to dilute the effectiveness and make the content unappealing.
Some content websites provide a writer interface or dialogue that automatically removes much of the basic HTML formatting or at least allows the writer to highlight certain words for bold, italics, or underlining without actual coding. Just because a website makes something easier to do, however, doesn’t necessarily mean you should shamelessly take advantage of the privilege. The best way to judge the need for special formatting is to read the sentence aloud and see how you would say it publicly. Need to underline a word? Would that be redundant or just plain annoying? ALL CAPS in the internet language means shouting.
Public
Web readers can doesn’t anywhere in the world. For this reason, it’s generally a good idea to avoid slang or provincial talk that some viewers may not find familiar or easily translatable. In other words, avoid giving readers the whole ball of wax when the Reader’s Digest version would just as quickly fill the bill. This can be more of a challenge in writing on them than you might suspect since many of us are little more than typewriters filled with idioms, slang, colloquialisms, neologisms, clichés, and jargon.
Writing on the Web for a general and iReader’sonal audience doesn’t mean writing at a simplistic or pedantic level. Still, it does mean assuming that at least some of your potential readers won’t fully develop your technical or literary language. Some terms or cultural references may need to be contextually explained or rewritten to avoid confusion. A Web writer doesn’t assume that a reader has some basic familiarity with the topic but should never think they will be the keynote speaker.
Numbers
The numbers from 1 to 9 must be written in words. Ten (10) can be written numerically or in letters, and eleven and above must be written numerically. Unless it is necessary or writing a legal document, writing a number in words followed by the number form should be avoided. Numbers in the thousands and beyond, such as 3000 and 2000000, should use commas to make them more readable.
However, different websites may have other ideas about proper number formatting, especially those higher numbers designed specifically for brain-frying purposes. Abbreviations such as M for “Million” or B for “Billion” may be acceptable in some sentences, such as “The US government today announced a $700 billion bailout for lenders.” The rest of us who don’t deal with M or B regularly should follow the standard rules of numerical engagement whenever possible. Individual webmasters and only”ne edit” rs should “inform w” iters of exceptions to the law.
Timelessness
Articles written for the Web must have a timeless quality. A writer should avoid using descriptions that immediately date the piece, as a few months ago, scientists discovered… or by this time next year, we should all be driving our spaceships to work… Topics may be temporal, such as discussing this year’s hottest celebrity meltdowns, but they should still be relevant a few years into the future. Consider this the phenomenon of Popular Science.
Timelessness can be an elusive goal when writing about current trends or pop culture topics. Ideally, a web article written with timelessness in mind should still be helpful at least five years after it was initially composed.
Examples
First, define and then impress the reader with meaningful measures.
Examples should highlight or emphasize an idea and not replace an actual definition. This means that a web writer should use the first few sentences of a paragraph to define or outline a concept before throwing in a long list of examples. For example, an article on the Web about different types of cars shouldn’t read like a showroom catalogue. A paragraph could mention economy cars that get better gas mileage or are more affordable for first-time buyers.
Acronyms
Let’s face it; we live in a world full of acronyms. Using acronyms in web writing is almostLet’srely unavoidable, so don’t avoid them. Remember to use the organization’s full name or phrase as the first reference, so include the acronyms in parentheses.
For example, a web article might include a sentence about the unchecked powers of the Transportation Security Administration or TSA. From this point on, the writer can refer to the organization by organizations. It is essential to define the abbreviation at the first reference. Otherwise, readers may start assigning meanings to the letters, and hilarity could ensue. It doesn’t hurt to flavour an article full of acronyms with the full name for clarity, especially if they all start to sound the same.
Choice of words
Sesquipedians are often cutting-edge, pedantic, and extra. However, they are great dancers and love woodworking. Writing for the Web isn’t about reducing an informational article to a third-grade reading level but about keeping that demographic of eight-year-olds in mind. The Internet contains millions of information just waiting to be stumbled upon. Still, readers shouldn’t be looking for the meaning of a complicated web article isn’t… the Internet.
Choosing the correct word has more to do with matching the article to the ideal audience than overwriting or subscribing. For example, when composing a specific theme for the medical community, using the appropriate name for a disease or procedure would be perfectly acceptable. However, when composing the same article for a general audience, acute coryza with severe rhinitis can become a bad cold with a runny nose. When choosing your words, write at the level of someone who routinely visits that website.
Verb tense
An article’s tense, whether in active or passive voice, can make or break it with readership. Web writing is more effective with an active agent, although many beginning writers resort to passive writing to sound more authoritative or scholarly. Would you rather throw a fastball straight into the pipe or articles by one that was thrown? Passive writing is the Bean City, so influential web writers learn to keep at least 80% of their article content in their active voice.
Active speech writing means keeping the subject of a sentence as the person, idea or thing that drives verdicts forward. Readers can tolerate some passive writing in an article but generally respond better to an article that stays focused and in an active voice. Occasionally a boxer may be stripped of his title passively. Still, an active sentence would suggest that the World Boxing Association denied the heavyweight his title for breaking the rules.
Sentence length
Write effectively but concisely. Web users typically appreciate short, clear, and concise sentences that answer their questions or queries without going on with sentences that go on for too long and cover unrelated or extraneous information. Long sentences tend to be challenging to follow. They can even border on boredom, which could drive the reader away from the site by clicking their browser’s back button, visiting one of their bookmarks, or ending their Internet session altogether.
One way to determine if a sentence has passed its natural trigger point is to breathe as you read it to yourself. A good sentence for web writing should only last as long as the reader can breathe.
Paragraph length
Internet web pages are a feast for its eyes and the mind, and if that feast seems particularly bloated or dense, many readers will turn away for the more digestible fare. Paragraphs in web writing should rarely be longer than 4-5 sentences and should be limited to one main idea or element whenever possible. Paragraphs of one or two sentences aren’t paragraphs—they’re more like little punchy thoughts or bullet points. Avoid them unless you can format them into actual bullet points or individual steps in a how-to article or another step-by-step how-to guide.
Technical terms
Sometimes there’s no better word for gizmo or hickey than what it’s called. When writing on the Web, it is acceptable to use technical terms whenever the situation calls for such precision. An article written for a physician’s website will include words like tachyons or quarks; nothing ordinary folks can do about them.
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