Web Design & Usability

Today people are all about getting the information that they want quickly and without much effort; web pages are no different.  Before we get into too much detail about web writing a quick thought...(and this should go without saying)...ensure the use of general "good" writing technique:  paragraphs are good, use a bit of punctuation, spell correctly, and use of proper grammer helps.  

Engaging, Usable, Useful, Findable
Along with the "what I should know from English 101", it is import to use an active, engaging tone; the flow of the writing should feel like a conversation.  Navigation and layout should be clear and easy to use.  Subheading allow the user to quickly find the information that they are looking for.  Subheaders should be concise and directly link to the content below it.  Making use of metatags is important for SEO and to ensure that the page is accessible to all audiences.

Web Writing Top 10 Tips

• Love the inverted pyramid
• Less is more
• Avoid sounding like an informercial
• Make your copy easy to scan
• Write killer headlines
• Lead with active words
• Use simple 
• Keep your promises
• Set up a review process
• Steal from good websites

Wrap Up
People are busy, or at least everyone thinks that they are...web writing should be clean, easy find, easy to navigate, concise, useful, and engaging.  When writing for the web ensure that the writing fits in with your overall web design and layout.  And, there are lots of websites out there and quite a bit are doing things right, don't be afraid to shop the competition.