Borrow techniques from other media when writing Web content.
The Web may be a relatively new format for writing, but each of the techniques discussed here has been used for ages. You only need to adapt them for a new setting.
Newspaper publishers know that non-subscribers only see one half of one page of the entire paper when it’s in a box or on a newsstand shelf. The most compelling information needs to be visible: the lead story, a couple of secondary story headlines, and the name of the paper itself. The name recognition alone might be enough to sell a copy to a hurried passerby.
Adaptation: If all of the important points don’t fit on the screen without scrolling, break up the page. Be sure the site’s ownership is visible on every page.
The political campaign speech is designed to hammer home only a few simple themes, using simple, direct language. Politicians know that the 6:00 news will only run about 3 seconds of the speech, so it had better not be complicated. The action requested of the audience is simple, too: “Vote for me.”
Adaptation: Don’t ask for too much at one time. Stick to one or two ideas per page.
Advertisements catch your eye with exciting and tantalizing words while relegating “while supplies last” or “limit 10 per customer” to a small font around the edges. The reader is drawn in by the overall message and later, once hooked, perhaps reads the fine print.
Adaptation: Use bold or colored font or a headline style to draw attention to words you want to be sure that the user will notice.
A clothing catalog labels each item with a straightforward name such as “long-sleeve cotton rugby shirt” so the reader knows exactly which description to read. If the description began with “warmth and style,” the reader would have a hard time distinguishing the rugby shirt from the woolen scarf.
Adaptation: Assume the reader is expecting certain words and supply them. Address what the user wants to do or get.
A pamphlet in a doctor’s waiting room doesn’t sell a procedure or treatment or sing accolades about the physician. Patients pick it up because they trust the source and want to learn more. They need to make decisions and expect to get straightforward, objective information.
Adaptation: Cut adjectives and adverbs — especially superlatives — that are not demonstrably true.
A news story starts at the end: “Police caught a suspected bank robber.” Then it presents the facts in declining order of relevance to the audience. A reader, listener, or viewer can tune out at any time in the story and will have learned the most important point.
Adaptation: Get to the point immediately. Answer the user’s most likely questions first.
Assembly instructions tell the consumer to insert tab A into slot B and secure with wing nut C. If the assembler needs help figuring out what a wing nut is, he or she can turn to the diagram in the same booklet. Otherwise, the process moves on to step two. Each step uses the same lettering system to refer to the parts. If instructions vary for different models, the model numbers are given in full so that the consumer needs simply to read the label to know which instructions to follow.
Adaptation: Use parallel language when offering choices. Offer an easy way to get additional help but only if the user selects it.
In editions of classical literature, many phrases require explanations, which are usually given in footnotes. The reader can choose to follow the cue in the text or not. Maybe the reader will only look at one or two, maybe all of them, or maybe enjoy the selection all the way through the first time and only later go back and read the notes.
Adaptation: Use links as needed for additional information or background, but avoid using extra text in the middle of the content.
The interconnectedness of content on the Web is the only thing about it that’s new. All the elements of good Web writing have been with us all along.