The 11 golden rules for writing content for your website

To say that the Internet is a crowded space is like saying that there are many stars in the sky, sand on the beach or atoms in a cell. According to Internet Live Stats, there are more than 1,900 million websites, more than 3,500 million searches on Google every day and approximately 350,000 tweets sent per minute.

Capturing the interests of readers in this exploding digital universe can be a great challenge. A study by the Chartbeat analysis service found that 55 percent of visitors spend 15 seconds or less on a web page.

A good writing of the website is the key to overcoming these statistics. Well-written content that is optimized for the web rises to the top of search results and attracts readers' attention.

Some writing tips are applied regardless of whether your prose appears on the screen, printed or carved on a pyramidal wall. Other tactics are especially relevant for digital scribes. Follow these 11 principles to ensure that the content of your website receives the attention it deserves.

1. Know your audience

It sounds simple, but many writers put the pen on paper (or the finger on the keyboard) before thinking who they are trying to reach. Ask yourself these questions: Who is my main audience? What happens with a secondary audience that can influence and inform my primary audience? How will you find my site online?

For example, suppose you are creating a website for a law firm. Your main audience could be existing customers. However, your secondary hearing is much broader and could include other lawyers, reporters of the law or anyone else who may need your services in the future. You must ensure that your content is accessible and interesting for all these audiences. What kind of questions could these groups ask about a particular topic? Where are you most active online? What kind of information do they need?

Audiences find web content through many different routes: shared social networks, links from other websites, shared email and search engine results. That last method is especially important when you write for the web. The text can be extremely well written and informative, but if it is not optimized for the search engines, it is very likely that few people will find it. Think again about your audience: what search terms would they write on Google? Be sure to include those terms in the headings and subheadings.

2. Follow the "inverted pyramid" model.

Web readers have a short attention span: they will decide if your site has the information they need in seconds. Structure your content as an inverted pyramid or cone. The most important messages are at the top of the page. Then, gradually delve into the more specific support information. Ends with tangential details.

For example, suppose you are creating a web page about a conference. The most pertinent details, a description of the subject, the date and the location, would appear at the top of the page. Details of support as speakers and their conference topics would follow. Less important information, such as the organizers of the conference, the history of the conference series or a list of related resources, will appear at the bottom of the page.

3. Write short, simple sentences

Long sentences are for Charles Dickens, the current reader's short attention span requires sentences of 35 words or less. And according to webpagefx, the average American adult reads at a 7th-9th grade level. Therefore, the content of the website that is accessible and easy to read will naturally reach a wider audience.

Focus on using nouns and verbs; Use adverbs and adjectives with moderation. Do not use words like "equanimity" or "obfuscation" when words like "calm" or "confuse" will work.

If you are not sure of the grade level in which you write (like most of us!), It is useful to verify the punctuation of your texts in the models of ease of reading.

Most popular models are based on the length of words and sentences in a text. The readability of your text is then scored with a number or level of education. These three tools will scan your text and punctuate your readability:

The readability test tool

The readability calculator

Microsoft Word

Can you easily understand your text at a reading level of 7th to 9th grade? Check how you score at the Flesch-Kincaid grade level to find out.

4. Adhere to the active voice

Use active verbs instead of passive verbs, and specify the subject of the sentence. For example, instead of writing "You ordered a coffee," type "The man ordered a coffee." Instead of saying "You can order products on our website", say "You can order products on our website".

The active voice helps create succinct and easy-to-read sentences. It is also more direct; When you speak directly to the audience ("You can do it") it is more interesting than saying "It can be done".

5. Show, do not say

Do not limit your prose to generalities and high-level affirmations. Specific examples of the real world help readers better understand and visualize their messages. Consider these two descriptions:

This is the best toy for dogs that money can buy.

OR

We made the dog toy "Rough Rover" with a durable 100% natural rubber, designed to withstand punctures and tears, even from the most dedicated chewers.

Which version gives you a clearer picture of the type of toy you are buying? The specific details in the second description show readers the dog bone instead of informing them about it.

As an additional bonus, the most specific and descriptive information of the product helps the SEO of your website and gives customers the information they need to make those purchases.

We love the descriptions of the products on the Zingerman website: they explain in detail what makes their gourmet meals the best choice.

6. Nix the jargon

The web is for everyone, not just technical experts. So make sure that the information is understandable to the educated non-specialist. Write the initials in the first reference. Avoid the internal language. Explain complex or niche terms. And provide hyperlinks to other articles where readers can get more background information on a particular topic.

Consider this prayer:

The journalist took an SOT from the MOS, returned to the station and put the story in the can.

Many of these terms are understandable only for broadcast journalists. An easy-to-read review would be:

The journalist interviewed a spectator about the incident and recorded her statement to include it in the story.

This advice is especially important if you work in a technical industry, but you want your website to attract non-expert clients. Remember to write for your audience (see point # 1) and not for your colleagues. The use of an accessible language will help you to be accessible and open, just what you want to convey to future clients.

7. Mix your choice of word

Words are like cookies: we all have our favorites. But when it comes to keeping your visitors interested, variety is key! Word clouds are fun to use and can help you vary your choice of the world by visualizing which words you use the most. Simply copy and paste your text into a free word cloud tool like this to generate your cloud. The more you use a word, the bigger it will look in your cloud. Have you abused a certain word? Write it on Thesaurus.com to find new synonyms to improve your text.

8. Make scannable text.

In addition to placing the most important information above, make sure the text is easy to browse. Most web readers will explore the page to find the specific information they are looking for, if they do not find it easily, they will move on.

Do not believe it Pay attention the next time you open a web page that you have not seen before. Are you reading every word from beginning to end? Or is it that your eye is jumping, looking for the information you want?

Instead of paragraphs with lots of text, use bulleted or numeric lists. Instead of a long page of text, organize the content in tagged tabs.

Always include "blank space". This is the empty space that surrounds paragraphs, images and other elements on your website. Although it seems that this is just a wasted space, in reality it is the best friend of a web designer. The comfortable amounts of white space around the text make it more readable and more enjoyable to read.

It is also important to divide the content into sections with descriptive subtitles. For example, a web page on climate change can organize information under the following headings:

What is climate change?

Drivers of climate change

Current and projected impacts of climate change

Solutions to reduce emissions.

Learn more

These sub-headings not only help readers navigate the page, but will also help search engines find their content. On your Jimdo site, simply select the text you want to edit, highlight your header and then move the mouse over the Style options to set the size of your header. Use a large header (H1) at the top of each page, use middle headings (H2) to separate their main content, and use small headings (H3) for minor points.

9. Incorporate multimedia.

Sometimes, an image, or an infographic or a video, is really worth more than a thousand words. Research shows that 90 percent of the information transmitted to the human brain is visual, and people process visual information 60,000 times faster than the text. An easily readable chart or graph can also explain a complex topic better than the text alone. If you are not a graphic designer by trade, there are many ways to use images on your website and some excellent services to help you create graphics, such as Canva and Piktochart.

10. Content of the layer website

The good thing about a website is that it is easy to direct readers from one page to another. Help readers find more excellent content by hyperlinking certain words or phrases to other relevant resources, especially those on their own website. This will help keep people engaged with your content and moving through your site.

For example, let's say that this phrase appeared on your cooking website: Ratatouille is a low-fat dish that consists of seasonal ingredients such as eggplant, pumpkin and tomatoes. You could link the "low-fat dish" to a page with other blog posts about healthy eating.

The creation of these internal links within your own site also helps your SEO, but keep in mind that the links should always be relevant and useful. Visually, if you overload your text with links, people will not know what to click on. Google recommends keeping the number of hyperlinks on a page at a "reasonable number."

11. Let them want more.

This is an example of how a call-to-action button can be seen on your website.

Good websites end each page with a call to action (or CTA for short). With Jimdo, you can do it too: with easy-to-customize buttons on your website. Is there any person that a reader should contact to get more information?

An interesting video that you should see? How about a related blog post that they can read or a report they can download? This strategy helps direct readers to other areas of your website and encourages them to promote your content among their friends and family.

Keep these concise calls to action, and start with action verbs like "Download," "Share," "Join," "Register," "More Information," or "See." a hyperlink that really allows readers to perform the action you are asking them to perform.

Writing, in general, is an arduous job: writing content for your website, even more. But remember, you do not need to write perfect texts the first time! Once your content is active, you can do monthly website checks to monitor and optimize your performance.

With these tips, you're ready to create effective content that resonates even with the most sophisticated and time-sensitive Internet readers.

And once your content has been written, read this checklist to design easy-to-read text on your site.