Welcome to Web Design Guide
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Web Pages Design Article
Writing for the web is different from writing for the print. Your web design
strategy should realize this.
The main reason is, reading capacity is less on a web page your web design must
take this into consideration. Also, reading from end to end on a computer is a
pain for the eye. This factor also should be considered in your web design.
Writing for the Web.
Coming at the web from the perspective of a writer, it can be easy to despair.
You might be used to writing for all sorts of media: newspapers, magazines,
books, or even radio, film or television. The web, though, is different enough
to what's come before that it demands you sit up, pay attention, and adjust your
writing style if you want your writing to work on the web.
Subheadings are Key.
Do you see what I'm doing here? I gave you a short introduction, and then I go
straight into a series of subheadings. These subheadings divide the article up
into clear sections, letting you dart around, scan more easily, read the bits
you're interested in, perhaps go back and read some you didn't think you were
interested in... it's really up to you. Web readers simply cannot abide being
given a big chunk of text and having to sort through it themselves – they want
clear sections in your writing. Note that your subheadings should be much more
descriptive and less 'creative' than they would be in print.
Make Sensible Paragraphs.
Now did you know that people make money just by articles and without a web site
or web design. Please meet
Melanie Mendelson is a thriving example who earns about $8000 every month
just by writing articles.
Without knowing a thing about web design people are just promoting articles and
making money. The trick is to submit them into article directories. Here is a
resource for
600+ Article submission directories.
Anyway, its all together a different article topic. The point is web writing can
be profitable without knowing a thing about web design.
When it comes to the web, paragraph splits are, surprisingly enough, less
necessary than they are in print. You will make your site look odd if you put in
a paragraph break after every sentence, or every two sentences. Instead, split
paragraphs when you start a new idea – note that if you combine two, many
readers won't register the second. In most cases, you shouldn't go for too many
paragraphs before introducing a new subheading. Your aim at all times is to make
your page as easy as possible for a reader to scan.
Lists are Always Good.
If you're about to write out a big list with commas and semicolons, stop.
Semicolons have no place on the web. Instead, you should be using lists,
complete with bullet points, to get your point across effectively. Treat it less
as prose and more as a presentation. Clear presentation of information lets
people find what they're looking for more quickly.
You will find glancers on the web and not readers. So your web design must cater
to this aspect as people do not read but they skim through the page milking the
important points.
Hence the relavance of bulletted list in your web article and web design. Bullets makes it easier for people to skim through what you have to say.
Of course, you shouldn't go overboard with the lists. If you have more than
one list in a row, or your list goes on for more than ten items or so, you might
want to consider revising the layout of your writing.
Don't Be Afraid to Link.
It might feel strange at first, but link whenever you're talking about something
that isn't included in an article. You're quoting a dictionary or encyclopedia
definition of something? Link to it. Are you reviewing a website? For goodness'
sake, link to it! There is absolutely no justification for fear of linking: it's
the way the web works, and if you're not linking when you could, you're not
writing for the web.
Make Everything Independent.
On the web, you can't be sure that your text is always going to be seen
together. Maybe your headline will be listed in an index of headlines. Perhaps
your intro will be next to it. You just can't be sure. In every case, then, you
have to resist the temptation for mystery, and play things straight. Imagine how
your headline and intro would look if they were detached from the rest of the
article. Would you know what the article was going to be about? Would you click
through to read it?
You should pay particular attention to this problem if you're used to writing
short, punchy headlines and explaining yourself in sub-headlines: realize that
the sub-headlines might not always be there, and adjust your style accordingly.
That means, if a visitor is to read only paragraph of your article, the writing
and web design should be such that it stands independent. The meaning should
come out clear..
Listen to the Authority.
This has really just been a brief introduction to the kinds of things you should
consider when you're writing for the web: there's plenty more out there. If you
want to read the best articles on the subject, though, you should read Jakob
Nielsen's articles on writing for the web, at
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/ . Although many of them explain the
results from research that was done quite a few years ago now, they remain as
relevant today as they were when they were written. Spend an hour or two making
notes, and watch your writing improve.
Hope these tips on web design and writing for the web has shown you the correct
way to write on the on the web. Some more web design articles are on this site.
Use them to your advantage.
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