Writing Web Content: Scanning, Not Spamming

Online users tend to scan text on a Web page rather than reading the page word-by-word.

Every article you read on writing content for the Web will inform you of this.

What does scanning the text really mean?
How does this affect what content we write?

Useit.com reports on a recent eyetracking study which indicates that users with a high-literacy level read approximately 20 - 28% of the text on a Web page. Often the user will read the first sentence or paragraph of an article then skim vertically down the content with eyes stopping at headings, bullet lists, bolded text, links and numerals. Another sentence or two may be read to see if the content is relevant and useful. The captivated reader will continue reading.

Online users tend to be extremely focused on a specific task or objective. They spend the absolute minimum amount of time on a new page to see if it relevant before moving on to another page, or worse - a competitor.

With a limited amount of time to keep the user’s attention on a Web page and encourage them to read, how do we write compelling and easy-to-read content?

Online Writing Tips—in a Nutshell

The title of the page is important. The first two words of the title need to be the initial attention grabber. In a navigational menu or a list of pages, it is the first two words of the title that the user will notice.
Use the inverted pyramid style of writing with the most important points or conclusion first. The interested reader will continue reading to gain the background.
Keep sentences short yet concise. Long sentences are for print material.
Be factual and informative. Most online readers are looking for information or researching a product or service. Avoid excessive promotional language and “land-fill” sentences. These are sentences that are used to increase the word count and have no real value to the reader.
Throughout the page use sub-headings, bolded text, bullet lists and links where appropriate. Avoid massive blocks of text.
Have clear calls-to-action. Users should not have to look for the next step. Users like actionable content.
Use numerals instead of spelling out numbers where they represent figures or facts. This is against traditional copywriting standards but is expected when writing for the online medium.

Many writers struggle with the non-traditional methods of writing content for a Web page. It goes against how we have been taught to write in schools. The Internet has changed reader behavior so we must be dynamic and cater to these changes. A great Web site for more information is the Jakob Nielsen site: http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/.

Earlier in this post, I mentioned that users with a high-literacy level scan Web content. How do we cater to the low-literacy user?

We will talk about that in another post.

[LF1] Link http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html

Have some experience writing effective Web content? Or perhaps a question for our Web expert? Leave us a COMMENT.