Working at a digital agency, it’s easy to get bewitched by beautiful web design, and let quality writing go out the window. Here are a few tips to help anyone from designers to copywriters to better write for the web

1. WRITING FOR THE WEB.

2. UNDERSTAND YOUR
AUDIENCE
• Users don’t read! They skim and scan for
the content they’re interested in.!• Site visitors are more likely to stay on
your page if you make it easy for them to
scan for those interesting items.!• Consider who you’re writing for. Does
your content need to appeal to a morespecific market?

3. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
• The content should focus on the user’s
needs, not yours or your organization’s.
• Consider why the user is on your webpage.
What are they looking for, or looking to
achieve? Who are they? Do your research!
• Consider various levels of expertise. Your
content should be accessible to everyone
from experts to novices.

4. CRAFT THE PERFECT HEADLINE
• Don’t play coy: no one wants to guess what’s in it for them!
• Employ sub-headlines to reveal what’s inside:
Creating a Beautiful Home
vs.
Creating a Beautiful Home: 10 Decorating Tips to Update Your
Space
• If you can’t tweet it, toss it. In today’s digital landscape all
headlines must be adaptable for social media.

5. QUALITY: IT’S NOT JUST FOR PRINT
• Quality content gives the reader the
useful information they need to
make a choice or solve a problem.
• Engage & compel to connect with
the reader and make them feel
involved.
• Stay on topic. If the reader thinks
the search engine lead them astray,
they’ll quickly jump ship.

6. START STRONG
• Lead with your most important
content to prevent back clicks.
• The who, what, where, when, and
why should be immediately apparent.
Details and description should follow.
• Necessary fluff comes last- chances
are the reader has already moved on
to the next paragraph.

7. SHORT + SWEET
• Be direct, brief, and concise. Stick to the point!
• Blocks of text are guaranteed to send your readers running.
Use headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to help readers
productively skim for their content.
• Each paragraph should only contain 1 main concept/subject.
• Lead and end with summaries/overviews of the material.

8. MAKE THEM TRUST YOU
• Cut the fluff, it will only make the reader question your
purpose and motivation.
• SPELL CHECK AND GRAMMAR RULES ARE YOUR FRIEND.
Repeat after me: no one trusts a messy writer!!!
• Keep your content up to date. A continuous stream of smart,
relevant content keeps readers coming back for more.
• Publish your contact information to prove transparency. You
have nothing to hide.
• Invite users to report errors, then show them you’re serious by
actually fixing them. Good customer service is key.

9. WRITE DRUNK, EDIT SOBER
Step 1: Write without questioning your content,
style, keywords, or grammar (within reason)
Step 2: Edit
!
You’ll keep the passion, personality, and voice
that makes content feel unique and natural.
This especially applies to blog posts!

10. WRITING FOR E-COMMERCE
KNOW THE COSTUMER: BIG SPENDERS
• They’re going to spend $$ no matter what, your goal is to get them
to spend it on your website.
• Highlight emotions over utility. How will the purchase make them
feel?
• Make instant gratification accessible. Don’t give them the change to
think twice about using that credit card portal.

11. KNOW THE COSTUMER: PENNY PINCHERS
• Emphasize value wherever possible. Adding in “small” before “fee”
or “only” before “$60 a month” makes a big difference.
• Avoid big number by breaking down the price. Think of an
infomercial: “YOU GET ALL THIS FOR JUST 5 PAYMENTS OF
$19.99!”
• Highlight the utility and necessity of your product or service. Why
do they need this blouse/sponge/patio furniture?
!
WRITING FOR E-COMMERCE

12. VERBS > ADJECTIVES
• Verbs are harder to ignore, and therefore more compelling and effective at
conveying your message.
• Actions are more memorable than descriptions. Think middle school english
class: show rather than tell.
• Ditch the passive voice. Active verbs are more persuasive for targeting the client.
!
Passive voice: He was going, It is thought, She was eaten by the mongoose
Active voice: She went to the fair, I need coffee, He ate a sandwich
!

13. BENEFITS > FEATURES
• Keep in mind that copy writing is often a form of promotion.
• Benefit-centric content elicits an emotional response from the reader,
persuading them to purchase an item that can attain that feeling.
!
Ex: This down jacket will keep you warm all winter long.
VS.
This down jacket has high-technology insulation.

14. COOL IT WITH THE KEYWORDS
• The more keywords the better? FALSE. Density does not equal optimization.
• Readers get turned off by keyword-stuffed writing. It feels fake!
• Consider LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) as a complementary tool:
!
LSI maps out the relationships between words, in order to understand the
meaning of the text. For example a google search for “blue shirts” may return a
great website with a selection of “blue blouses.”
Utilize LSI by creating clear content that covers the main concepts linked to the
targeted keywords
!
!

15. SOCIAL MEDIA IS CONTENT
• Be engaging: talk to followers, start a conversation about your
brand, or share information from your website.
• Again- it’s not all about you. Lead a conversation about industry
issues, feature content from other sources, share a promotion.
• Be active, but keep quality in mind. Idle accounts, over promotion,
and useless content are a recipe for followers to drop you.

16. We are great at puns!
but still have a few f laws…

17. V+V WRITING CLASS
• Before you start, seriously consider whether
your piece has interesting, original content
• Don’t repeat the same verb/adjective 2
sentences in a row.
• Cut the clutter!
• Combine 2 small sentences into 1
• Vary the length of your sentences. Use short
sentences to emphasize ideas, and longer
sentences to explain, define, or illustrate them.
• Read aloud while you edit.
• Overusing periods will not help you escape
proper comma usage!
• Consider using em dashes:
Example: Verbal+Visual-being the awesome office
that it is-let their Operations Associate annoy
everyone with this presentation.
• Consider using the Oxford comma >>

18. LEARN FROM THE PROS
“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper
usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow
what we learned in English composition to disrupt
the sound and rhythm of the narrative.”
!
- ELMORE LEONARD
“I do not over-intellectualize the production process.
I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.”
!
- TOM CLANCY
“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s
the only way you can do anything really good.”
!
- WILLIAM FAULKNER
“No one can write decently who is distrustful of the
reader’s intelligence or whose attitude is
patronizing.”
!
- E.B. WHITE