Difference between writing online and writing for print
Writing for the web is different from writing online. Hands up who’s sick to death of hearing this statement? I know I am. It’s like saying the sky is blue, or don’t stick your tongue on dry ice …
Let’s get over it, and explore it a little more.
Of course writing from print is different from web, but since when do you adopt one writing style for everything that’s in print, and one for the web.
Isn’t writing a:
- novel different from writing a short story?
- news feature different from writing a profile?
- limerick different from writing a rock ballad?
Is there a difference between writing a limerick in print, and writing a limerick on the web? Hang on, I’ll ask that guy from Nantucket … No!
There are a lot of similarities when writing in print and online.
The way I would structure a straight news story, for example, would be exactly the same for both. Good tight writing is good tight writing … no matter where you write it.
But, for the most part, people don’t like to read on the web. They quickly scan web pages, and then get on with living their life.
General web writing tips
So how do we make it easy for people to get their info on the web:
- write short, simple sentences
- use sub-headings to split up information chunks
- always bullet lists
- front-load sentences with key words.
That last point is an interesting one. I’ve watched people scan web pages during user-testing, and their eyes tend to shoot down the left-hand side of the main body text.
So, if you don’t have your keywords at the very beginning of sentences or bullet points, readers may miss the info they are after, and go somewhere else.
You have to deliver your punchline first when writing on the web.
This advice is general … writing online takes many different forms.
Don’t forget … that common-sense is your overriding guideline … apply it liberally.