Among the Web's many peculiarities is the way people read online
text. It took me a lot of time (being a writer who loves to read
the greats like Dickens and Kafka) to realize how impatient and
hurried the general web reader is.
Most of the web readers do not read complete sentences and
paragraphs, unless they are reading a white paper or a piece of
literature. They generally scan the headlines, or the words that
grab their attention. Web readers tend to scan text online and
read text offline. They typically do not read a page from start
to finish on the computer screen. Instead, they scan a site
looking for relevant items and then print pages that contain the
information they seek. You need to apply a style and method to
your Web documents that accommodate this type of reading.
I'm not saying there are hard and fast rules for writing for the
online audience, but if you take care of the following
guidelines, you may find yourself on the comfortable side of the
hedge.
==> TRY TO BE CONCISE <==
As I mentioned above, an average web reader doesn't read big text
streams. Unlike a printed papyrus, the web is humanly limitless
when it comes to seeking information. It's all on the back of the
reader's mind that the moment he or she begins to feel bored,
just a few clicks are required to go somewhere else.
==> CONVERSE WITH YOUR READER <==
Write in a conversational tone whenever possible. Use lots of You
's, I's and Me's. Keep a free flow and keep throwing
attention-grabbing expressions at your reader. No, it doesn't
mean you create a nuisance or insult the sensibilities of your
reader, but try to be as formal as your subject allows.
A few months back I used to write technical tutorials for a
management portal. The chief editor had hired me as a freelance
columnist because of my casual but incisive style. The senior
management, sadly, objected to my style and said I should tone
down my humor and make the tutorials sound serious and bookish.
While I was writing in my style, the portal was getting great
response and the readers were loving the tutorials. When they
curbed my style, the popularity declined vertically, and soon, I
got bored and stopped writing for them. They closed the web site
last week because many subscribers asked for refunds.
Lesson learnt: no matter what's the field, a typical web reader
does not read pedantic stuff. I don't know why, but the web makes
them funky.
==> WRITE IN A LINEAR FASHION <==
Try not to divide a single topic among various pages. If the
message is interesting and relevant, your web readers would like
to read it on a single page no matter how long and bulky that
page is, rather than pressing the Backward and Forward buttons.
I have seen this myself, and know how irritating it is to having
to go to various pages to read just one article or product
description. Fine, the web readers prefer shorter pages, but it
doesn't mean if a paper consists of thousand pages then we should
have to click thousand pages to read that paper. It's better that
all the content is on a single, linear, scrollable page.
==> USE LESSER LINKS <==
Some online articles are full of links. Even for a two-line
explanation, some writers use a second page and give the hyper
link in the first page. This I find very restrictive, especially
if I want to take printout for later reading. Agreed sometimes we
can't help it, but keep in mind that where you can avoid giving a
link, avoid it.
Another problem with links is, they distract the reader.
Sometimes the reader clicks on the links, reads whatever is
there, and ends up forgetting the original page.
==> HIGHLIGHT MAIN POINTS IN THE BEGINNING <==
Yes, this is a very important point. If you give the headlines at
the beginning of the page, and if you make them sound
interesting, the web readers tend to read with greater
earnestness.
Suppose an article or a section tells the insomniacs how they can
sleep using the technique mentioned in the article or the
section. The following highlight would probably trigger an
interest:
DO YOU CRAVE TO SLEEP CONTINUOUSLY FOR AT LEAT 10 HOURS WITHOUT
TAKING A PILL?!! READ ON TO KNOW HOW YOU CAN.
==> MAKE COMPLETE PAGES <==
As far as possible, all the relevant pages should be
self-reliant, and should be present in their intrinsic entirety.
Web surfers arrive at a particular page randomly, sometimes
straightaway from a search engine or a referred link. There is no
way to tell where they've been or where they'll go after visiting
your page. Even if you try to provide context using links to tie
related pages together, you cannot force a Web reader to follow
those links. As a result, your approach must be encyclopedic,
giving the reader a fairly comprehensive presentation of the
topic on every page. Whenever they arrive, they should know where
they are without having to go here and there.
Always include a link that takes to the main section of the web
site with just one click.
==> IMPORTANT THINGS FIRST <==
Whatever your reader should know, according to the relevance,
should come first on the page, and if aesthetically possible,
properly highlighted. Think of all those things that the visitor
would like to see first most, and keep them as easily accessible
as possible.
You should present the important information in the first two or
three paragraphs so that by the time the reader gets distracted
and leaves the site, you have conveyed your main message.
==> MAKE PRINTABLE PAGES <==
If you have lots of textual content on your web site, keep it in
a form so that your readers can take out printouts. If you look
at articles on my web site at http://www.bytesworth.com/articles,
you'll notice every article has a print version too, so that a
reader can take the printout and read the article later.
This sums up my writing presentation for the time being. If you
feel I have left out some vital point, you are welcome to let me
know.
Amrit Hallan is a freelance copywriter, writer and a web
developer.
He also writes pages that are optimized for search engine
rankings.
Checkout his site, and read more of his writings at
http://www.amrithallan.com
