HOW TO WRITE FOR WEBSITES

And because website users do not read websites but only scan pages, here is a simple guide on how to write for website:

Use simple conversational words and avoid jargons; unless you are doing technical writing for academic, scientific or technology sites that target a select type of audience.

Confusing: Although it is not allowed, hockey is one game where fighting is not uncommon.
Simpler: Hockey is one game where fighting is common, although it is not allowed.

Present one idea per paragraph and make sure every paragraph relates to each other. Keep a maximum of 2-3 short sentences in every paragraph.

Example: $5.40 is how much each missed call costs Pizza Hut. The number is so important that you can see it posted in the back rooms, where manager notes how many calls have been missed on every day and appends their monetary value.

Pizza Hut has made a commitment to answering 97% of calls in the take-out/delivery context, because to settle for a lower answer rate is simply to leave money on the table. 

Use inverted pyramid style of writing that puts the most important points or conclusion in the beginning.

Example: Always remember that people buy benefits, not features. People do not buy shampoo; they buy great-looking, clean, and manageable hair. People do not buy cars; they buy speed, status, style, economy, performance, and power. Mothers of young kids do not buy cereal; they buy nutrition.

Use active form of the verb rather than the passive form.

Passive: One form that US citizens are expected to accomplish on an annual basis is the tax return.
Active: Tax return is one form US citizens are expected to accomplish annually.

Avoid using so many adjectives or descriptive words; instead use more action words or verbs.

Wordy: Yet one day, amidst all these relentless efforts, it all comes crashing down. The castles in the air built on dreams of forever all goes down in a devastating yet silent crash.
Action Packed: Go call your local provider and ask them what the same service would cost, but first grab a chair because you will need a place to sit when they quote you a price.

Avoid using marketing jargons or exaggerated claims; instead write objectively by presenting facts and let the reader form their own judgment.

Blown up Marketese: Simply put, Brand X is the best (the only!) small business site-building-hosting-and-marketing solution in the world!

Use more bulleted lists when presenting multiple ideas.

Example: Website content is one of the most important criteria for visitor satisfaction. Web content includes:
     • Text information
     • Website navigation
     • Graphics selection and placement
     • Links to additional information on the web

Highlight texts for scannability.

Example: Users not only dislike pop-ups, they dislike advertisers behind the ad and they dislike website that exposed them to it. In a survey of 18,808 users, more than 50% reported that a pop-up ad affected their opinion of the advertiser very negatively and nearly 40% reported that it affected their opinion of the website very negatively.

Add credibility to your article by acknowledging your sources of information. You can do this by putting hyperlinks to source’ website.

Example: The figure shows the distribution of the speeds with which users have connected to the Internet, according to the last six Georgia Tech Web user surveys.

Use meaningful headlines and sub-heads in between paragraphs to highlight ideas and combat reader fatigue.

Avoid information overload. Stick to one topic per article.

Keep your article to a maximum of 300 words per web page.