Pointers on Writing for the Web

There are a number of key points to keep in mind when writing for the Web:

Use informal, or conversational, writing  when possible.  Studies have shown that any text that begins with "you" or "your" has a 70 percent better chance of being read.

Write in the "news you can use" style which alows users to quickly find the information they want. Web users are much more easily distracted than print readers. Provide your information directly to them; engage them.

Be concise!   Don't write more than 50 percent of the text you would have used in a hardcopy
publication.  In other words, edit your material down to the bare bones!

Use simple sentence structure. Convoluted writing and complex words are even harder to
understand online.

Use active verbs. Where possible, choose verb tenses that won't be quickly outdated.

Be consistent when moving (or linking) from one Web page to another.   Be careful of verb tenses, pronoun usage, and terminology.

Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence to define its purpose. If you don't start your
paragraph with a defining topic sentence, they're going to miss your point.

Make sure there is only one idea per paragraph. Remember that users are primarily scanning and will probably only read the first, topic sentence. If you have multiple ideas in your paragraph, they're probably going to skip over and miss some of them.

Limit each paragraph to 4-8 lines (if possible).

Use the inverted pyramid writing style. Begin the content article on each hypertext page by
telling your reader the conclusion, follow by the most important supporting information, and then
end by giving the background.

Note: This writing style is just the reverse of the traditional pyramid writing style, which starts with a foundation and gradually builds up to a conclusion. In the inverted pyramid, which is also used for newspapers, readers can stop at any time and will still get the most important parts of the article. On the Web this is especially important because users don't like to scroll and will very frequently only read the top part of an article or block of information.

Limit the use of metaphors, particularly in headings; users might take you literally.

Avoid clichés.