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Website Content Writer & Copywriter
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So you decided to create an online presence. You hired a web
designer, you chose a host and you bought a domain name. You may even have
invested in a search engine optimizer, but now you're faced with a new problem:
you don't have engaging content.
People come to your site, they look at your nice pictures and flashy
design...and then they read your text. Then they do exactly what you don't want
them to do. They hit the back button.
Why? You know you have a great product, but you simply don't know how to say
it. That's where we come in. We specialize in the complete creation of content
for your website whether it be from scratch, a rewrite of older material, or a
little of both.
When writing for the web, use
- Shorter sentences, words and paragraphs
- One idea per paragraph
- Concise text - half the word count (or less) than writing for print
- The inverted pyramid style, putting the most important point or the
conclusion first
- Simple words
- Objective language to build credibility, rather than exaggerated claims or
overly promotional words like "great", "tremendous" etc.
- Highlighted text (bold or color, also hyperlinked text) for scannability
- Meaningful headlines and subheads, avoiding cute or clever lines
- Write better web content.
Reading on the web is too much work!
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Reading from a computer screen tires the eyes. People read 25%
more slowly on the web than they read print material.
That's why, web content has to be 50% shorter than print.
Readers on the Web scan text
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According to a study by usability expert Jacob Nielson, 79% of
readers on the Web tend to scan or skim text rather than read word for word.
Highlighted text (bold or color, also hyperlinked text) and bulleted lists aid
scannability.
Readers on the Web are impatient
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Readers on the Web are in a hurry to get the information they
want, and move on. They don't have the patience for obscure and complex text. They don't enjoy
scrolling through masses of text either.
Since there are millions of alternative websites in cyberspace, they will
quickly move to another site if they don't enjoy the information gathering
experience on your site. Attracting attention and retaining reader interest is a challenge, specially as
you have just 10 seconds to grab attention with your web site content. To combat reader fatigue, make it easy for your Web users to get relevant
information. Put the most important information at the top. Use clear and
concise text.
Readers on the Web are skeptical
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Credibility is a major factor in retaining reader interest on
the Web. Use objective language, write meaningful headlines and subheads and avoid
marketing jargon or exaggerated claims to build credibility. Cute or clever
lines could mean that the reader takes longer to get to the main point.
Hyperlinks to the sources of your information or to related information also
add to credibility.
Readers avoid information overload
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In an average workday, people suffer from information overload .
They already have a large number of emails in their inbox to contend with, and
several documents to read.
They don't want to spend time and effort reading content that they may not find
useful.
Offer your readers information in bite-size chunks which are easily digestible.
Use short sentences, short paragraphs, one idea per paragraph.
Use meaningful headlines and sub-headlines which help them nail the information
they want, quickly and easily.
Writing for the web
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Writing for the web is totally different to writing for printed
matter. We tend to scan content on the web hunting for the information we're
after, as opposed to reading word-for-word. As a result of this, there are
certain guidelines which are followed by our content writers for writing copy for your
website.
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