Web Content Writing

Content writing is a vital feature for your website. The reason why people visit websites is to look up for information on various products and services. Visitors will be satisfied only if they receive satisfactory and informative content on the website.

Writing for the web

Use plain English

Plain English is a writing strategy that can help improve communication. It involves:

• familiar, everyday words
• short, simple sentences
• active, rather than passive voice.

Use short, simple sentences

Sentences that are short and simple make content easier to absorb. Long sentences that include a number of clauses quickly become confusing and may be misunderstood.

Use the active voice

Most sentences have 3 parts:

• Subject (the, person, group or thing doing the action)
• Verb (the action)
• Object (the person, group or thing that the action is done to)

With active voice the subject of a sentence takes the action while with passive voice the subject is acted upon. For example:
Active: Maria returned the book to the library.
Passive: The book was returned to the library by Maria.
Using the active voice makes writing clear, direct and dynamic. It can also help reduce the length of sentences.

Know what you are trying to say

A lot of writing lacks a clear goal. If you aren't sure of what you're trying to say, your writing will suffer.
When writing or reviewing web content, write a list in point form of the things you want to say. Check your written content against this list and remove anything that doesn't need to be there.

Do not publish until content is complete

Don't publish pages with "under construction" or "more information coming soon" messages. These pages can frustrate users looking for information. Either the content exists or it doesn't.
Don't publish pages without first having them reviewed and edited.

Write for your audience

It is important to keep your audience in mind when writing. Before you write anything, consider:

• Who is your audience?
• What are they looking for?
• What do they know about the topic?
• What are their reasons for reading this page?
• Will they understand your jargon, acronyms, abbreviations?