5 Must-Know Tips On How to Write for the Web
Learning to write for the web isn’t as daunting as you may think.
If you’re a little overwhelmed with the task of writing content for your site or social media platform, take a deep breath—you’re going to be okay. It's a lot easier than you think to write quality content for the web.
Chances are, you’ve already got everything you need to get started… you just need a few tweaking tips.
Granted, there are some important tips you’ll need to keep handy when it comes to writing for the web. And lucky for you, we’ve got a few gems listed below. We love to share our super-smart knowledge—that’s just how we roll. Chances are, you’ve already got everything you need to get started… you just need a few tweaking tips—here are 5 must-know tips on how to write for the web.
Be Bossy
Sometimes it’s okay to be pushy—like when you’re writing content for the web. Tell your readers what you want them to do with a call-to-action to generate leads. If you want them to read a certain article, then tell them to click a button or a link. If you want them to comment with feedback in a blog post, let them know that’s what you want them to do. You are a tour guide—point people in the direction you want them to go. Do you want them to be your friend on Facebook? Then let them know by giving them a big ol’ button that takes them right to your fan page. If you don’t tell them what to do, they are likely not to do anything at all.
Keep Sentences Short
Seriously. Short is good. We know that it’s easy to get caught up in your own verboseness, especially if you’re on a roll. Break up longer sentences with semicolons and em-dashes—they let the reader know to take a break. If you’ve got a bunch of points to make, go with bullet points—use the ordered and unordered lists for easy scanning and content consumption. For the most part, a sentence should never be longer than a line.
Spellcheck
For the love of delicious tacos, use spellcheck before you publish anything to the web. We know you’re excited about what you have to say, but it takes a few minutes to hit the spellcheck button. Even better—get a different set of peepers to take a gander at your work. It always looks perfect in your head, and so a second pair of eyes can catch what you missed. It’s a small thing, but it ensures your work looks professional.
Use Hyperlinks
The post you’re writing now isn’t the only relevant thing you’ve written. And if that past content is relevant to what you’re writing about now, be sure to add a hyperlink to that story in the blog content. Not only will it provide readers with a backstory or definition, Google loves it when you include relevant links on your site. As well, you can share the hyperlink love with posts or information outside of your site. Create hyperlinks to other bloggers or sites that you have sourced, been inspired by or just want to acknowledge. And yes, Google loves this kind of hyperlink love, too. Don’t go overboard—if you add too many, your readers will be confused and might click away from your site. Always remember to use the open in a new tab feature of a link.
Hooray for Headlines!
Headlines help break up an article (kinda like this one). Each separate point should have its own headline and run about a paragraph or two when writing content for the web. A headline acts like a signpost. It lets the reader decide if the point is relevant to them, so be sure it reflects the subject matter you’ll be covering. It’s also good for SEO—go get those keywords!
Do you have any tips, suggestions or questions about how to write content for the web? We’d love to hear them! Connect with us on Twitter or Instagram.