How to Write Good Website Content?
You know exactly what your website is about, but how do you explain it to your visitors in a good text? You want your website content to be informative, but also interesting and appealing to read. What makes it even harder, is the fact that website texts are different form texts on paper. People read them differently, so you have to focus on other aspects when writing website content. If you keep the following rules in mind, you will attract the right audience and keep your readers interested.
(1) Use headers and sub-headers
Use headers and sub-headers for different paragraphs and emphasize them with a bigger fond or by making them bold. This way your visitors can see very quickly what the text is about just by scanning it. Headers should be short and catchy. Using whitespaces to separate different paragraphs makes your text more readable.
(2) Be to the point
Initiate your text with the subject that you will discuss, or problem that you will give the solution to. It should be clear from the start what your text is about and what readers can get out of it.
(3) Use numbers
Use numbers in your text and write them in digits instead of spelling them out. That way they stand out in your text. Numbers let people see factual information in a split second, which is convenient. It is especially a good idea to use a number in your title. If you see “10 Tips to Write Good Website Content”, you will think: Great, so if I just follow these 10 tips, I can write a good text! It makes things simple and people know immediately what to expect from the text they are about to read.
(4) Stay objective
Research shows that people don’t like texts that are commercial. Everyone will see right through it. This is why it is important to keep your text objective by giving factual information.
(5) Use short sentences
It is not necessary to use only short sentences in your text, some can be a little longer. Just don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. In most cases a sentence of three lines can be cut up into two or three shorter ones. This make a text a lot easier to read.
(6) Keep it simple and clear
Don’t use jargon in your text, unless it is meant for a specific audience. The same goes for the use of abbreviations. Not everyone knows what they stand for. Be careful with referring to previous parts of your text, like “as I mentioned before”, or “in the previous paragraph”. You don’t know if the reader actually read that part of the text. Lastly, if you use links in your text, don’t use click here. It is better to say: read this article about writing better content.
(7) Speak directly to your reader
Use “you” to speak to your readers in a direct manner. It is better to say: you should focus on your readers, then: writers should focus on their readers. Of course it is still important to stay polite.
(8) Make it visually appealing
If your text looks appealing at first glance, the chance that people will read it is bigger. You do this by using bullet points, underlining, capital letters, indented paragraphs, bold words, italics, or text in a different color (except blue, because this is the color for hyperlinks). Don’t overdo it though, because that will just make it look messy.
(9) Use active sentences
An active sentence is clear and has an incitement to action. So for example, you don’t say: “more information can be found…”, but: “you can request more information…”. It is even better to start certain sentences with a verb, such as “use” or “do”: “Use a verb to start your sentence”.
(10) Write grammatically correct
This is an obvious one, but it can not be said enough. Spelling mistakes in your text make it less reliable and spelling mistakes in your website content make your company less dependable. Checking your text for grammatical errors is a small effort with a big impact.