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Published by: Judy Cobb 03-12-2013  |  POSTED IN: Traffic Tuesdays

Words Blog 16 - Writing for Your Website: Tips

 
The content of your website and the way you choose to write that content anchors your website design and graphic elements. More importantly, it tells your "story" to your visitors and customers.
 
As I have been writing for various websites recently, I have seen that writing for the web is like most other types of writing in many ways, but with some significant differences. This week's blog talks about some of these similarities and differences.
 
The most important thing to remember in writing for a website is to keep the pages, paragraphs and sentences short and succinct. If you have a lot to say--and hopefully you do--break the content up into bite-sized pieces.
 
It's better to have new pages for each discrete idea or topic, rather than creating long pages that require people to scroll down. Many people won't. They'll look at all that text and move on, probably to other websites where it is easier to find the information they are looking for.
 
It is usually more effective on the website to have a larger number of short pages instead of a few long and dense ones. The challenge of having a lot of content on a number of short pages is organization and links between the pages.
 
For each major section of your website or major content topic, you need a "master page" that gives your visitor a summary of what he or she will find in the section and an outline or list of topics so each is easy to find. Having a master page with key words from your topic pages also increases the chance that people will find your website when they are searching for information on the web.
 
Each page that links from the master page should have a specific purpose and focus that fits within the overall structure of that content. When designing each page within a topic, remember always to include a link back to the master page.
 
I'm always surprised that so many websites forget to leave breadcrumbs to take you back to earlier pages. The back arrow works all right for that purpose, but it is easier to have a link that takes you directly where you want to go.
 
In writing for an attorney's website recently, we created master pages that identified major categories of accidents. Within each category, we discussed specific types of accidents and the major legal issues related to each. Under the Vehicle Accidents master page, for example, we had pages about auto accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents and bicycle accidents.
 
In the discussion of each type of accident, we included specific topics: statistics related to that type of accident, major causes, what to do immediately after the accident, what to do before leaving the accident scene and what to do as follow up to the accident as well as specific information about legal issues associated with that type of accident.
 
One of the key differences between writing for a website and writing print text is the need for redundancy. You can't count on people coming to individual pages via the home page for your website and the master page for a section. A search might have taken someone directly to an internal page on your site, or they might have followed a direct link from a friend or another website.
 
This fact makes it important that you repeat critical information on many pages within the site. Doing this can be tricky. You don't want to insult or bore people who have found the information on other pages, but you want to be sure that people who have not visited other pages see that critical information.
 
For example, if you are providing expert content on a specific topic related to your business, you want to be sure that the person visiting the page knows that you are the source of the information and that you can provide them with products or services they may need.  On the other hand, you can easily annoy people if you put your business information all over the place on every page.
 
Your business needs to be an integral part of the content story you are developing. One strategy for creating this link with your business is to provide specific examples, case studies or testimonials describing how your business has worked successfully in each area.
 
You probably do not want to put all the information on the original content page. It would be better to have a short sentence or paragraph that lets them know (briefly) what you have done and gives them a link to find out more.
 
Writing for a website requires that you concurrently keep in mind both the macro view of your website as a complete "document" and the micro view of each page as it fits within that document and the story you are telling. Books, magazines and other print documents are linear. A reader can easily control how he or she accesses the information.
 
Finding content on a website is very different. Visitors have to interact with the site in order to find what they are looking for. If your website has managed its content well, you have provided enough structure that the visitor can readily find what he or she is looking for and that content is clearly organized and written.
 
Many writers have said that it is much harder to write a short document than a long one. That's because, in a short document, every word and every mark of punctuation has to carry weight and move the message along. The challenge of writing for a website is similar.
 
 
You can help us assure that every blog post in this series provides you with tangible suggestions and ideas for building or improving your website. Please share your ideas, comments, questions and suggestions with us. Feel free to leave comments below or to email Judy at [email protected].
 
Judy Cobb is an independent writer and business writing coach whose clients have included Parsons Engineering, Mattel Toys, The Los Angeles Times and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has specialized in developing training materials for instructor-led courses as well as interactive online courses and websites. She holds advanced degrees from Columbia University and Stanford as well as an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management.
Thanks for reading. Jason.
P.S. Don't forget to subscribe below to this blog.
 
About Jason Ciment
Formerly an attorney and CPA, Jason has been working online since 1997. His columns on affiliate marketing can still be found on www.Clickz.com and his book on search engine optimization can be found at www.seotimetable.com.

This blog is published 4x per week and covers website design and SEO tips as well as a wide range of tips and advice for working and living online more efficiently and enjoyably.
 

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