Servant To The King: How To Make Your Content Readable And Enjoyable

The Internet marketplace is both dense and unforgiving. One decade ago, the online universe aimed to simply inform and entertain, with content that was both filled with knowledge and engineered to be friendly to the oft-strained Internet-savvy eyes. Today, the Internet has evolved to become more interactive, so that anyone with a computer terminal and knowledge of online wiles and desires can join the digital universe and add his or her name to the roster of humans who have made their voices heard online. This paradigm is known as Web 2.0, and it has resulted in ordered chaos.

As more and more people find their way online, and as more and more people scream their voices and write their hearts out for all the world to read and see, more and more people are finding things to criticize in their fellow bloggers and speakers. In a digital world where content is still king, interactivity has a price: writers and actors alike are subjected to harsher criticisms, sometimes through online channels that can wreck reputations even before they are made.

The key to participating in Web 2.0 is to create content that is readable and enjoyable. The key to surviving the paradigm is energy, but the key to succeeding in it is creativity. Here are a few ways by which you can make your website content readable.

Know Yourself, Know Your Competition

Not all web users can view videos or listen to audio files, and not all web users have all the time in the world to surf the Internet and look for interesting information and websites. With a rapidly crowding Internet marketplace, the key, therefore, is to let your website stand out.

Do not be afraid of text content: search engines can index sites based only on their text, so animations and fancy Flash shows will not turn up on search engines. In fact, many beginning web designers are advised not to place inordinate amounts of animation, video, or audio files on their websites. The first goal of any web designer is to get on the search engines first and be noticed and found using searches; when the website is famous enough, then the fancy stuff can come in and decorate an already well-known site. In the meantime, all creativity rests on content.

Before typing away and writing your content, make sure that you know exactly what you want to do. Are you endorsing products or services? Are you producing memoirs on your life as a funeral home director? Are you writing a novel online or giving tips on how to write creatively? As soon as you know what your aim is, go through the Internet and scour it for sites that will be similar to yours.

When you see the competition, ask yourself: what do they have that appeals to a wide audience? More importantly, what can you offer as a web designer or content creator that these sites have not offered yet? These considerations can take very long to figure out, so be patient: the best ideas come at the most unlikely times, and only after you have gauged the powers and properties of your competition.

As soon as you know what can make you a hit, and as soon as you have determined exactly what new things you can provide, then you can start writing your web content. Brush up on your grammar, convince yourself to work slowly and accurately, and make sure you have a book of style and correct usage next to you.

Dont be Afraid: Be Creative

The key to getting your site noticed by search engines lies in proper search engine optimization of your site. Search engine robots scour sites constantly, looking for keywords that correspond to the sites content. If these keywords are present at just the right density, the search engine robot will index the site under that keyword.

What you need to have is information peppered with just the right amount of keywords that correspond to your sites aim. What you need, moreover, is creative information: instead of providing articles, you can show top ten lists; instead of pure text, add images with corresponding captions. Be careful of adding too many images, however, since they can make it difficult for most browsers to load your site. You can risk annoying users not only by poor content, but a site that a browser can hardly access.

Make your paragraphs short, and avoid using big vocabulary words. You want to inform your web visitors and educate them; only then can you properly impress them. Moreover, if you are delivering facts, always cross check them using offline reference materials, since not all reference materials online are reliable.

These are only a few ways by which you can creatively tweak your website. You can offer information in the form of rhymes or poetry; you can write diary entries; you can even make a photo essay, as long as you are servant to the king that is content. There are thousands of ways by which you can be creative online: all you need to do is be yourself and let your creative juices flow twenty five hours a day, and you can see your web visitors scrambling back to get more.