The WebDev Buzz

Writing for the web demands all the skills needed for any kind of writing activity. This means that, similar with other kinds of writing, web content writing should produce articles with the following characteristics:

• Attractive headlines – which is supposed to excite curiosity
• Good spelling and grammar – which, if absent, makes the visitor doubt the abilities of the company to offer quality products or services
• Logical organization of paragraphs – which is based on the way the readers or visitors think
• Powerful conclusion – which perfectly completes the article or compels the reader to take action

Yet, writing for the web needed more. This is because reading an article from a website must be an interactive experience for the visitor. Thus, aside from the four characteristics above, there are other things to consider when writing the web content. Here are some of the major considerations:

• Short paragraphs – This is due to the results of a research that states that web pages are not really read, but scanned. Only when something is really interesting and intriguing does the visitor takes the time to read.
• Short sentences – The message or thought must be put across precisely and concisely. Internet readers have very little patience for long-winded sentences.
• Simple language – This means that the Internet visitor has no time nor inclination to open a dictionary in order to figure out the meaning of a strange word.
• Use of subheadings – This purposely tells the visitor, at one glance, how the content is arranged. If arrangement is logical then the visitor will read the whole article.

The writing style utilized in producing web content and copy must adhere to the purpose of the website’s existence. If the website intends on offering the service of “search engine optimization”, an article about “Analyzing Meta Tags” is appropriate. An article about the “Dangers of Internet” is disastrous. In essence, the web content must be guided by the following questions:

• Who are the target audience or readers?
• What do the visitors want to know when they visit the website?
• What is the purpose of visitors when they open the website?

Producing excellent web content must be a cooperative effort between the writer and the web designer. Sometimes, the web designer and web writer is one person only, and sometimes two or more people are involved. The number of people does not matter. What matters are the following:

• Making an important word or phrase in bold or italicized format. This calls attention and breaks up an otherwise long article
• Placing links within the text. This meets the need of the visitor to interact with the web page. The links could be in the same page or in another page.
• Abundance of “white space”. The blanks or white space makes the web page less cluttered and more friendly to the eyes.

If writing for the web was well-planned, then the website will most probably be noticed by Internet users, out of the huge mass of websites offering the same thing.