08 Sep 09 J O U R3340 Writing For The Web

Writing for the Web
Sept. 8, 2009
JOUR 3340 – Online Journalism

Style Tips
Here’s some advise from Jakob Nielsen, the guru of web design and usability:
Users do not read on the Web; instead they scan the pages, trying to pick out a few sentences or even parts of sentences to get the information they want
Users spend 4.4 seconds for every extra 100 words on a page
Users do not like long, scrolling pages: they prefer the text to be short and to the point
Users detest anything that seems like marketing fluff or overly hyped language ("marketese") and prefer factual information.

Writing Style – ‘Chunking’
Information broken into ‘chunks’ of information.
Web users prefer to print out long documents or save them on their hard drives.
Long stories on the web are hard to read. The more a reader needs to scroll, the less likely they are to read the story.
Source: Webstyle Guide: http://webstyleguide.com/site/chunk.html

Style tips from Poynter
Make it tight and bright
Explain
“Banish gray” – long blocks of text
Link, link, link
http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=35378

Writing Style – ‘Chunking’
Organizing information into relevant ‘chunks’ helps keep the reader interested. Facilitates adding links to enhance interactivity. Be careful: Don’t divide content into too many parts or readers will lose interest.
Chunking is a method to create consistency of web style, and helps readers understand the content flow on your site.
Source: Webstyle Guide: http://webstyleguide.com/site/chunk.html

Writing Style
Headlines – Compelling –
On the web, headlines sell the story
Six to 10 words
Strong verbs
Most important items first
Question headlines workable
Blurbs
Summaries of story, often on home page and linked to full length story
Briefs
A complete story in just a few sentences.

Writing Style
Conversational style
Cross between broadcast writing and print
Lively verbs, colorful adjectives and distinct nouns.
Active voice always!
Short paragraphs
Be aware of references to your sources
Consider using full name on second reference because you don’t know how story may link

Additional Style Tips
Consider one idea per paragraph – even if it’s just one sentence.
Write in easily understood sentences.
Include links as part of your copy
E.g. Bill Gates [link to his bio] created Microsoft [link to microsoft.com] at a time when PCs were just beginning to become commonplace.
Think Globally. Avoid regional/local terms that may be misunderstood by the broader audience.
Develop a voice, a style, a flow.

Web Story Structure
Get to the point
Story must be told in 50 words ... Then your reader MIGHT read the rest
REMEMBER: only about 100-150 lines per screen… and less if a reader is looking at story on a PDA.
Make everything you write relevant.
Constantly ask yourself:
Why should the reader care about this?
What elements of interactivity can be used to engage the reader to make the content more compelling?

08 Sep 09 J O U R3340 Writing For The Web

by Neil Foote on Sep 16, 2009

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08 Sep 09 J O U R3340 Writing For The Web — Presentation Transcript