How web writing differs from traditional print writing
I used to work for a local newspaper website and had to take copy that was written for the paper and put it onto the web. It soon became clear that the audience for the website was very different to the paper and we had to keep that in mind when we were writing. We found that the paper had a big audience of OAP’s but the website was visited by a lot of sports fans trying to find the latest scores and match reports. These were a much younger demographic, so if we wanted to hold their interest we had to create other content aimed at them as well.
Writing for other parts of the web is the same. The main difference between that and writing for print is the audience. When you are writing for a publication you usually have a set audience that you are aiming towards, whereas the online media tends to attract a wide range of people of different ages and from different countries. Your writing therefore needs to reflect this by being more general rather than trying to appeal to a particular person.
When people are reading articles on the web they are unlikely to sit and read for long periods of time like they would when reading a magazine or newspaper. Often they catch up on topics they are interested in during their lunch break or other short periods of time which mean that they don’t want to read long passages with lots of details, but want short, sharp bursts that are information rich and punchy. You shouldn’t be writing lots of waffling sentences with detailed language as this will just take too long for anyone to read.
On the web it is very easy to get distracted by adverts, or other sites that you have seen on the search you made, or know about. Therefore if you are writing for the web you have to work much harder at keeping your readers attention. You need to write in a chatty style that they will feel comfortable reading, and make them feel like you are writing the article just for them to keep them interested. Use language that they will easily understand, but keep the sentence structures varied to keep their interest. Try to use a wide range of vocabulary but make sure the words are common enough to be easily understood, as your reader won’t want to be looking up every other word in a dictionary.
Try to make it easy for your readers to understand the points you are making. Use bullet points if that is easier to get your point across and make sure that everything you say is clearly explained but in as few words as possible. Break down your writing into short paragraphs and try not to make more than one or two points in each sentence. Using a clear style like this will mean that your reader is less likely to become distracted with what they are reading.