7 Tips To Improve Your Web Copywriting

How we write for the web has changed over the years, with a whole new bunch of rules and strategies that need to be learnt. Here are 7 tips from a professional copywriter to help you improve your web writing.

1. Web writing is not just one style of writing.

You need to understand the web is not just one thing. Different parts of the web have different styles of writing. Corporate websites still tend to be a bit more formal in choice of words.

Blogs and forums allow you to be more informal and relaxed with how language is used. Sites such as Twitter need a totally different style again and are similar to SMS text messages in terms of language style. You need to match your style of language to the internet medium you are using.

2. Break the rules (within reason).

Traditional writing was very formal. Web writing is more like having a chat with your friend over a coffee. The art of web writing is to write as you speak. This includes starting sentences with "and", splitting infinitives and breaking sentences across two lines. The only rules that are still strong are use of swear words and discriminatory language. For most businesses it is still better to leave these parts of your vocabulary at home.

3. The words you select define your brand.

Writing for the web is the same as creating a brand in words - the words you choose will define who you are and how your company is positioning itself on the market just as surely as any logo or colour scheme. Are your words young and fresh, or traditional and professional?

4. Short isn't always better.

In this world of short attention spans people think less words are better. People first scan and then mine for information. More words can actually outsell less words, as long as you use visual clues to help the scanners get the gist of the information first.

5. Headlines and sub-headlines are important.

People scan your headlines and sub-headlines. Are they interesting? Do they make people want to stop and read the content beneath? Do they tell a coherent story if you just pull out the headlines and put them on a page by themselves?

6. Fonts: bland is good.

Keep your font styles and colours to a minimum. A riot of colour may be great for your hair or clothes, but takes attention away from the content of the words. Fancy fonts will generally not render well across different computers, so keep to the tried and true fonts.

Online Arial and Verdana are easier to read than Times New Roman. You can use one font with your headlines and sub-headlines another with your body copy ... but more than that and you are starting to tread in difficult waters.

7. White space - the restful pause.

Many businesses try and cram every pixel with words and content. White space helps create spaces for eyes to rest and stops visual overload. Allow some white space in your designs, and don't let overzealous designers fill your website with intricate images unless you are in a creative industry. Plain, simple, easy to navigate sites outperform visually complex sites for the majority of industries.

The bottom line is writing for the web is an art form that needs to be mastered. Not every person who writes great documents for work can become a great web writer, just like not every piano player becomes a concert pianist. If you need a virtuoso with your business words then a professional copywriter can create brilliant music with your words.