WRITING FOR THE WEB

You want to design your page so your points are easy to understand. Writing for the web isn't much different than writing for print, but on-screen reading can be more difficult. You have to take steps to make it easier on your visitors.

• People use the web to find information that they need. Make sure your visitors will find your information useful to them instead of just useful for you.

• General overview information is fine, and can be extremely helpful. If you want them to act on the information you provide, make sure you give them all the information they require in order to act immediately.

• Make sure people know what your site will do for them. Put this information at the top of the page, so people can see what they'll get from you without scrolling. People scroll only if they think there's something of interest to them on your page.

• Write conversationally to make the visit more personal. The tone and writing style should be more casual, more conversational.

• Everyone reads headlines! Condense your most important point down to a one- or two-line headline. For long articles, create a summary and include links to the main subheads in the article. This enables people to view the article at a glance, or quickly jump to any point.

• People skim headings looking for specific topics, so use subheads liberally.

• Use italics for emphasis since they can help your visitor hear the emphasis you intended and they help your text sound more conversational.

• Condense important points to bulleted lists.

• Repeat your most important quotes using pull quotes (quotes set larger and frequently in a different typeface).