Writing for the web is not the same as writing for a journalism course or a trade publication. People who visit your site are busy and looking for specific answers. They do not want a novel; they want a quick way to get the information they seek. Always remember, the next site is just a click away. Roadblocks or delays turn them off, and they will leave fast if you don't give them what they want.

Web Writing is half art, half English. Most of it fails in its purpose. The first thing to know is that concise, to-the-point writing is far more effective than any other option. The second thing is that the site must be scannable and easily navigated. If you make it hard to get what the reader wants, she will simply move down the list to the next site.

Here are some of the basic elements of successful Web Text.

Web readers avoid big chunks of text and tend to scan for the information they are seeking. Help them find it. Here's how.

• Use Headings. Short ones to the point.
• Make your sentences short. Preferably 20 words or less.
• Make your paragraphs short. One sentence paragraphs are completely acceptable.
• Use sentence fragments. You are not writing for English 101; you are writing to get the information to the reader as easily as possible.
• Keep it simple. The fewer words the better. And don't try to impress the reader with your vocabulary. Basic text sells.
• Use the active voice. It is shorter and easier to understand.

Make it Scannable:

A second and almost equally important concept is to make your site scannable. The reader is not going to read your site as a novel starting with the first paragraph and then reading the text in sequence. She is going to scan for what she needs. This means you must "decorate" your site at various points. How do you do this? Here's how.

• Use bold characters to highlight key words or key points.
• Use italics.
• Use indents to block something off.
• Use underlines.
• Perhaps change font size once in a while.
• Create bulletized lists. Like this one.

Most people spend their time online communicating with friends or colleagues in a social, casual way. The type of communication they are used to is not formal and corporate, it is conversational. Write that way. That's how you engage people online. That's your environment, and that's what will keep them there.

Note, however, that you must always keep the nature of the site in mind. Since this is a site about a company called WritingHelp.com, it is written to provide insight into many forms of writing. A description of Business Plans intended to secure financing for a mid-sized corporation can have a much more formal tone to show what the plan should look like. A section about direct sales letters should more closely follow the tone of what a direct sales letter should look like.

Generally speaking, you want to engage in a conversation with the reader. This is not a lecture, it is a dialogue. Talk to the reader, ask her questions, and engage her interactively. As in speaking, you should choose oomph over grammar. Your site should be punchy, and while it is important to know your grammar and what constitutes "proper" English, it is more important to know when to break those rules. And feel free to start sentences with conjunctions. You speak that way; your site should feel that way.

Make It Easy to Navigate:

While this section is not about web site design or search engine optimization, your site must be easy to navigate. Include drop-down menus to show the exact content the reader can expect to find. This is a critical component to a successful site. The reader has to be able to search for the specific information she wants and find it fast. Your headings must match their content.

Be Objective:

Almost nothing turns a reader off more than exaggeration and hyperbole. Yes, you can be proud of your service or product and promote whatever advantages you have over competitors. But the web is full of ridiculous overstatement and if your reader gets a whiff of this, your site loses credibility.

The key is to be straightforward and honest. Provide facts and statistics, studies and testimonials, where you can. Do not make unproven claims to greatness. You must seek out and destroy language that is excessively promotional because in this context, it does not sell.