How To Write For The Web Tips For Writers

Knowing how to write for the web is a matter of recognizing how people read online and what kind of information they’re looking for – and then delivering it. Good online articles are short, concise, and properly formatted for quick scanning by the reader.
People read text on a computer screen differently than they do printed material, scanning for headlines, relevant content and highlights. They want to see a summary of the article before committing the time and effort to reading it. Lead your article with your conclusion or main point; don’t bury it several paragraphs in.
In addition to writing a summary of your article and keeping the introduction concise and to the point, it’s a good idea to:
Use the active voice, not the passive.
Add headlines above different sections of your article.
Make use of bullet lists, numbering, and other HTML tricks to break up the text.
Attribute your sources by name and/or hyperlink to build credibility.
Employ strong verbs.
To make your article readable, keep text sections to no more than five lines per paragraph. Breaking up your content in this way allows your reader to more quickly see what your paragraphs are about and to assimilate the overall points of your posts. This is important to keep in mind as you learn how to write for the web.
Online readers and internet surfers prefer to read short posts on a narrow topic, with links to related information, than to have long, scrolling pages of information overload on one page. With this in mind, focus on one precise topic per URL. That is, each blog post or online article should be focused on a specific subject and should not wander from its title.
Use hyperlinks to jump to related topics on the same site and around the internet. Avoid writing “click here” or “follow this link”, however; assume your readers are familiar with hyperlinks. Your anchor text, the word(s) that people click to follow your links, should convey what the page you link to is about.
Write in a factual yet conversational tone; your articles should be neither too verbose nor too sales-like or you will turn off your readers. Present your information in a way that is both easy to read and convincing; do your fact-checking and research first.
Knowing how to write for the web involves creating content based on how people read articles online and arranging that material on-page in a way that is attractive and, most importantly, readable.