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Writing for the Web
Jeannine Gailey
February 11, 2002
Introduction
Information
Design
Navigation
Manageable Chunks
Concise Headings
Organization
Linking and the Inverse
Pyramid
Action-Oriented Content
Transforming Print Content into Web Content
Spare and Strong Style
Numbered Lists, Headings, and Other Reading Cues
Conclusion
Books about Writing for the
Web
In this article, we will explore some strategies for
improving your online writing skills and making your Web site’s content more
appealing. The article includes tips for transitioning print content to the Web.
Introduction
Writing for the Web should be easy, right? The ease of publishing content, the
acceptance of a more casual tone, and the ease with which you can continually
revise your content may lure you into a false confidence. In Designing Web
Usability, Jakob Nielsen reports that 79 percent of readers on the Web scan
rather than fully read a page. When they do read the screen, they read about 25
percent slower on screen than they do printed material. His research also
suggests that Web readers are, in fact, more intolerant of errors than readers
of print sources. Web readers also have a shorter attention span, and they like
to skip around a page looking for relevant bits of information.
All this means that you need to write content that is easy to scan and present
it in a way that will be easy on the readers’ eyes. There is no “right” way to
write for the Web, but there are some general guidelines to follow.
One caveat before we start: In this space, there is no way to tackle everything
involved in writing for the Web. For example, graphic design will not be
covered, and navigation is covered only briefly. We focus here on the text
itself.
Information Design
Before you begin writing, think about what —and to
whom— you want to communicate. The key skills in writing for the Web are:
§
Being able to
understand how content affects navigation
§
Knowing how to
properly organize content into manageable chunks
§
Writing concise
headings that are informative and easily scanned
Navigation
You are in charge of how users will get around, and the number-one rule of
navigation is “don’t confuse your reader.” Be clear and consistent with
navigational links and menu options. Remember, online readers like to skip
around, so use a hyperlinked table of contents if your content addresses more
than a few main topics and subtopics.
Manageable Chunks
Chunking refers to the process of dividing each topic into cohesive units
of information. A good chunk is usually fewer than 150 words and can be viewed
on the screen without having to scroll, even for users with low-resolution
monitors (800 x 600 and lower). Each chunk should have a clear, readable header
and should link to other chunks. Don’t just use the ubiquitous Next button.
Readers should be given a choice of which chunk to move to next, and those links
should be contextually intuitive. For instance, after reading about “Choosing
Gardening Tools,” readers might appreciate links to “Planning Your Garden
Layout,” “Maintaining your Tools,” and “How to Start Planting.”
Concise Headings
Users scroll only if they think it is worth the effort, and they are intolerant
of extraneous information. How can you make key information easy to find and
use? Keep your headings short but as descriptive as possible. For instance, the
heading “Creating Scannable Content” is fine, whereas “Make Sure You Are
Creating Content that Readers Can Easily Scan in 10 Steps” is too lengthy and
confusing. Also, you may need a multiple heading structure. Try to use no more
than three heading types; more than that can be hard for the reader to decipher.
Organization
Linking and the Inverse Pyramid
What is the inverse pyramid? It is an old journalism term for a way of
writing that probably opposes what you learned in school. You probably learned
to write an introductory sentence to lure readers into your piece and then
deliberately lay out more and more information as you read further down. The
inverse pyramid approach flips that concept: Write a first sentence that “tells
it all” in very general terms. Then each subsequent sentence in the paragraph
delves deeper into detail. The idea is to provide as much information as
possible in the first minute of reading time. This can be accomplished by
highlighting the major concepts in a piece and then allowing the reader to
access the more detailed content by linking to it or displaying it in another
window.
Action-Oriented Content
What do you want your reader to do after visiting your site? This is a question
that you need to answer because you are responsible for leading your reader
through the content on your site. Action-oriented headings clearly indicate to
readers what they will be doing.
Remember, it is your job to make the content and the navigation work together so
that your readers always knows what they are doing and what is coming next.
Transforming Print Content into Web Content
Have you ever had a manager ask if you could make some content just a little
more “webbish?” Sometimes the things that you write for print just don’t
transition well to an online format. Here are some suggestions to help ease the
transition of content.
Spare and Strong Style
Follow the basic rules of good journalism. Edit mercilessly. Get rid of extra
articles. Use active verb tenses and short, declarative sentences. Keep
everything as brief as possible; long stretches of transitional content don’t
belong on the Web.
Numbered Lists, Headings, and Other Reading Cues
Most long documents on the Web are still set up like print documents —long,
dense blocks of text that require the reader to scroll and read every sentence
sequentially. You can help your readers find what they’re looking for quickly
and easily by following these guidelines:
§
Break up text
into sections with headers.
§
Remember, a
confusing headline is worse than none at all!
§
Whenever
possible, use numbered lists or bulleted lists when writing instructions or
describing groups of items.
§
Instead of
requiring readers to scroll through pages of text, provide links between
different topic chunks.
Conclusion
Good
online content will make your site easier to use and will improve its
effectiveness. Bad content can tarnish your company’s image and annoy your
customers.
Books about Writing for the Web
Nielsen, Jakob, 2000. Designing Web Usability: New
Riders Publishing, (especially Chapter 3, “Content Design”).
Ross-Larson, Bruce 2002. Writing for the Information Age. W.W. Norton.
Garrand, Timothy Paul, 2000. Writing for Multimedia and the Web, 2nd
Edition: Focal Press.
Kilian, Crawford, 1999. Writing for the Web. Self-Counsel Press.
Jeannine Gailey is a technology writer and owner of her own small writing and
consulting business. She has worked in technical documentation for eight years
and managed Web-based projects at IBM, AT&T, Capital One, and Microsoft.
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Courtesy of Jeannine Gailey
See original at < http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/community/columns/sbcolumn04.htm >.
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