Writing for the Web: The way you write the content on your site is just as important as your graphic design in terms of attracting customers. While a well-designed site might catch people's eyes, visitors should be able to quickly scan the information so they can find what they're looking for. If you make your site easy to read and your product information stands out, visitors will be more likely to make the leap from browser to buyer.
Here are five ways to craft content that will keep visitors on your site:
1. Write to Online Readers
Online readers are different. They don't read as if your site were a printed publication. Instead, they tend to look for specific information, scan for what they need, and move on to another site if they can't easily find it.
Write to your target customers. Are they young or old? Do they spend a lot of time reading about products, or do they buy based on basic information like price? What other sites might your customers visit? How do those sites communicate with them? A business audience probably wants content that is brief but has a more formal tone. Consumers go for a more conversational approach.
2. Keep Content Short and to the Point
Online readers are scanners-and scanners are impatient. Limit your headings to no more than eight words, and use them to let readers know what information will be found on a web page. Within web pages, use subheads to keep readers moving and to help them find what they need. Keep all sentences between 15 and 20 words, and limit paragraphs to 40 to70 words. In total, a web page should not contain more than 500 words.
In the more content-rich sections of your site, when you explain what you do for example, keep it short but don't sacrifice important information. Consider writing in what journalists call an "inverted pyramid" - put the most important information at the top and the least important at the end.
So what information should you include? Usually, visitors are looking for the basics:
- What do you do?
- Why should they choose your product or service instead of a competitor's?
- How much will the product or service cost?
- How can they contact you and get more information?
3. Inspire Action
As with any promotional tool, your site should drive customers to action-either to purchase a product or contact you for more information about your services. Prominently place contact information such as email sign-ups, catalog requests, contact forms, and special offers so it's easy for users to take action and for you to gather their contact information and begin developing a relationship.
4. Design Your Content
The look and feel of your text is as important as your site's graphic design elements. Use bullet points and numbered lists to separate and organize information. Use bold type or color for headings, but don't over do it. Colors should be part of your overall design scheme. All-caps and exclamation points don't tend to work - the information should be able to sell itself. Use a few simple, easily recognizable icons such as your logo to direct users back to your home page or a graphic representation of a question mark to lead them to your frequently asked questions page.
5. Maintain Your Standards
Don't sacrifice quality. Your site should have the same high quality as any brochure or document you would send to a client or potential customer. Customers don't want to see spelling mistakes and lousy grammar online any more than they want them in print, so use spell-check and have several people proofread the site and check for mistakes at each stage of the writing and editing process.
Strive to write the web content you'd like to read yourself, and consider these best practices to keep you on track:
- Write with a goal in mind: teaching or advising, answering a question, prompting an action.
- Write clearly and concisely in the right tone for your audience.
- Use details and examples.
- Don't tolerate errors.
- Be engaging.
By following these strategies when writing your content, you'll make it easier for customers to find information about your products and services when they visit your site. Just like waiting on someone in your store or talking to a potential client in your office, your web site should reflect what you do and also who you are.
