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Don't forget to write

Back in February I wrote on digital media training and in particular writing for the web. This has become quite an issue recently with clients increasingly opting for websites with content management systems (CMS). Web copy not only dictates how well you communicate your offer, but how well your site performs in organic listings on search engines. So extracted from my writing for the web training package, here are 10 key points to bear in mind.
  1. Remember how you read websites - look and learn from sites you think do it well. Don't expect your visitor to read what you won't read yourself.
  2. Customers only listen to one radio station WIIFM - 'what's in it for me'. Talk about benefits to them... don't talk about yourself.
  3. Vary descriptions: people use different terms to describe most things, so consider the terms they may search your site on. For example, I was working for a vehicle hire company, but visitors might search on truck rental, truck hire, contract hire, vehicle leasing etc. Be sure to work all those terms in.
  4. Be concise, reading on screen is not easy - keep the paragraphs short and the word count down.
  5. Use lists - bulleted or numbered lists (like this) are quick and efficient.
  6. Visualise in our mind a typical person you want to address on your site (maybe a friend, relative, customer, ex boss). Then write as though you were talking directly to that person.
  7. Use English as you would speak it - for some reasons people who would normally say; 'I need to find the facts.' when they write suddenly start saying 'I must access the data'.
  8. Read your text out loud. If it sounds stupid saying it - it will probably read stupid on the page.
  9. Learn to edit. Writing is a two stage process. The creative stage - just let is flow get down what you want to say; don't worry about spelling or English. Then the editing stage, write and re-write. Refine, check spelling, word usage, insert headings, break paragraphs, move things about.
  10. Read - you learn about writing by reading.
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