Smart Writing and Layout Styles for the Web

If you write web content, it may be a mystery to you as to what "works" and what doesn't work. You want people to read what you write, but are they understanding your content or clicking away soon after stopping on your page? If the latter, you stand to lose visitors and, ultimately, sales. Let's take a look at how you can rework your site to one that attracts and keeps visitors.

Know your audience. Unless your site is geared exclusively to the scholarly crowd, gear your words toward a younger audience. Many web content producers know that language understood by 12 and 13 year olds is much more effective for attracting and keeping guests than anything else. This takes into consideration a couple of things: not everyone who visits your site is well versed in English, but they have enough of an understanding to read at a middle school grade level. If your goal is to reach the masses, you must consider a global audience particularly an audience where English is not their native tongue. In addition, unfortunately many Americans are ? to be polite ? lacking in certain abilities when it comes to reading. No need to stand on your platform explaining why it is this way ? it just is.

Speak to your audience. Use "you" when writing. Too much talking about yourself is not very interesting. People want to know what you can do for them. Testimonials, however, can be effective especially if it discusses a problem and the resolution to the problem is shared. Create empathy!

Short and sweet. I already violated this particular principle by writing a lengthy paragraph and by including a long sentence previously. Oh, well...live and learn! Still, many people approach the internet as something to be scanned, not read. So, include plenty of white space and split up your paragraphs. Keep your sentences short too. Mrs. Grimsley, your 8th grade English teacher might not approve, but her students today will!

Use bullets, numbers, or bold. Make what you want to say stand out by bulleting, numbering or "bolding" the beginning of your sentences. In other words, lists work very well on the internet.

Select nice fonts. I love Times New Roman, but it is best used only for print. Instead, use Trebuchet, Arial, and Verdana as they are easier on the eyes. Give your visitors eye strain and they will look away...they will probably miss something too.

Grammar and spelling. Proper use of grammar as well as being careful not to misspell are critical parts to your writing. Do not rely on spell checks and a thesaurus exclusively as they cannot pick up every misused or misapplied word.

Get an opinion. Feedback from others will help determine whether your site is readable, friendly to the eyes, easy to navigate, etc. Don't expect criticism to always be wrapped in niceness; take what is said as constructive criticism and then apply the changes to your site.

If you are new at web content writing, it is likely that it will take some time for you to "get in the flow" of writing web content. Of course, not everyone is able to fully grasp this method, so your best option may be to hire someone who can get the job done for you instead.

Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on just about any and every issue imaginable. You can preview samples from his high performing site at http://www.thearticlewriter.com

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Broaden Your Customer Base: Submit Articles!

If you are going to be writing articles to promote... Read More

How To Write A Profit Pulling Article

Having an article published is one of the fastest and... Read More

$1036 in 12-hours From Writing A Single Article

Would it be worth it to master a technique that... Read More

Writing Articles

You say, I can't write an article, I have no... Read More

How to Write a Short Article Under 500 Words

Online publishers, ezine subscribers, and Web visitors want short, useful... Read More

Powerful Article Marketing Tips

If you have submitted your articles to EzineArticles.com you have... Read More

Interviews with Well-Known Ezine Writers #2: - John Colanzi

MS: John, you must be one of the most prolific... Read More

Writing Articles For Permanent Traffic

Writing articles is possibly the best way to generated free... Read More

So You Want to Be an Author - These Are the Easiest Types of Articles in the World to Write

Being an Internet Article Author is far and away the... Read More

How I Write Articles For Profit

Most Internet marketers worth their salt know how effective articles... Read More

Mining Your Experiences for that Article or Book

Chances are good that the next article or book you... Read More

Article Writing: Breaking Writers Block

It is amazing to see how much we all still... Read More

Handling Rejection

Rejection is part of a writer's life. You must cope... Read More

Article Marketing: the BETTER Offpage SEO Solution

Been reading up on SEO? If so, you know that... Read More

Writing an Interview Script

Gathering information from interviews is really simple. You ask the... Read More

Simultaneous Article Submission

Do you know the difference between simultaneous article submissions and... Read More

Article Marketing: Know your Topic

Everyone knows an expert is just a drip under pressure.... Read More

What is a Ghostwriter and How Can I Find One to Hire?

A ghostwriter, as one may think is not a writer... Read More

You Can Also Write

I am sure that there would have been a moment... Read More

Build Better Link Popularity with Syndicated Articles

There are many schools of thought on how to build... Read More

Write Articles Geared to Your Local Market to Bolster Your Local Search Visibility

The Shortest Distance to Your Home Town Enterprise is Over... Read More

Are You Submitting Your Articles?

Last month, I began promoting Jason Potash's "Article Announcer." I... Read More

10 Things To Remember When Writing Articles To Market Your Website

Whatever you're selling, writing articles to distribute freely amongst webmasters... Read More

Ten Steps to Writing a Winning Top Ten Article

Have ever wished that there were a formula for crafting... Read More

Write a Better Technical Article in Half the Time

Good technical articles are challenging to write. They're time-consuming, demanding... Read More

10 Steps to a Magazine Query

IntroductionThere are two ways to submit to magazine editors.One is... Read More

Effective Affiliate Marketing Using Articles

Every day thousands of people join affiliate programs and yet... Read More

Ive Got An Article To Submit, Now What Do I Do With It? (6 Tips)

You submit it, that's what you do! And submit it... Read More

The Difference Between Article Marketing and Traditional Article Writing

Lately, there seems to be some confusion between Article Marketing... Read More

Reaping The Amazing Benefits of Writing E-zine Articles

Marketing on a budget is tough. This is a universal... Read More

Why You Should Write Articles or At Least Get a Ghostwriter to Write for You

Overture reports over 1 million queries for article keyword related... Read More

Writing Articles - Two Aspects Of The Surge

Writing articles for publication on the Internet is, at the... Read More

Writers Block - Find an Article Topic in Minutes Anytime Anywhere with These 7 Tips Guaranteed!

One question I get asked all the time is how... Read More