Content: Writing for the Web

Web content. It's what draws your visitors.

But, people don't read on the Web the same way they read a magazine or book. They scan and skim. They look for headlines, sub-headings, bolded print, and white space.

The Web is a massive source of online content—much of it is absurd information but some as perfect and full of data as one could want. Unfortunately, most of it is hard to find. Good online content - written by Web writers—not only includes the information people need, it's also coded so that search engines easily find it - and index it near the top.

Assumptions Underlying All Online Content Work that Will Be Done

WordsWork knows that good writing anticipates its audiences’ needs. And, good writing for the Web is no exception—except it also involves more. Our Web writers create online content designed for the Web based on our knowledge:

of the dynamics of reading content on a monitor
that a reader may enter the site through any page, not just the front or landing pages
the use and placement of hypertext links
the impact of scrolling and scanning
that because there are no geographical boundaries, cultural assumptions are taboo
that information be presented in a variety of formats to suit individual needs and preferences

This implies that each page will be:

Succinct—clearly written with appropriate details and internal and external links to provide additional content information as well as navigational help.

Scannable—by using headlines, sub-headers, bullets, and highlighting, visitors will be easily able to find what they want on a page without reading the whole page.

Short—ideal pages will be no longer than two screens to keep scrolling to a minimum—while this may mean more pages, it also means a reconceptualization of those that exist.