Writing for the web is different.
Surfers often have short attention spans,
so you have to grab their attention with graphics and great text.
- Headlines: Like the pros do in the media, you have to grab them.
- Write inverted: Most people are taught to write from a foundation state of mind where you build up to the conclusion. Newspaper people know that you have to hit them with the meat first and then explain how you did it. This is an inverse pyramind.
- Use lists rather than paragraphs: Employ a style and method to your web documents that accommodate the scanning technique most readers use to get information.
- Spellcheck your work: Get an HTML authoring tool with a built-in spellchecker.
- Use plenty of subheads: People skim headings looking for specific topics—so use subheads liberally. If you started by creating an outline, your outline headings will automatically become subheads.
- Format headings as separate lines: or as a lead-in sentence to a paragraph.
- Bold text stands out: It’s best to use it sparingly, such as for lead-in headings at the start of a paragraph. Bold words scattered inside the text can be confusing.
- Use italics for emphasis: Italics help your reader hear the same emphasis you intended. Italics can help make your text sound more conversational.
- People read bulleted text: Condense important points to bulleted lists.
- Repeat your most important quotes: using pull quotes—quotes set larger and often in a different typeface.