Structured Writing for the Web: The Basics
A Guide to Creating Organized, Scannable Text Content
Sep 24, 2008
There are 3 important places to start with structured writing:
- Lead with a paragraph that clearly defines the content of the page
- Develop content that is easy for people to scan
- Break information into chunks
By highlighting or summarizing content at the beginning of a page, people can quickly understand how that information will be useful to them.
See, many people take writing classes in school where they are trained to build up an opinion or thesis over the course of an essay and then provide a conclusion at the end. Web writers should glance at a journalism textbook and write with the reverse-pyramid structure. Meaning, content should begin with the conclusion, then provide supporting documentation and more progressively detailed information as an article unfolds.
These 3 components are the most important guidelines for structured writing. But, there are many ways to further refine content
Creating Content with Structured Writing
According to Sun Microsystems and Jakob Nielson, “reading on a computer screen is 25% slower and readers are not willing to read long passages.” As a result, Nielson suggests that writers should write small focused pages and keep in mind that on the web, less writing is more--because the more you say, the less people listen.
- Make content as concise as possible
- Use less than half the word count found in conventional print writing
- Write clearly and avoid run-on sentences
- Unless other needs dictate, write in a compelling manner with a friendly tone
- Avoid marketing jargon and self-promotional language that damages site credibility
Headlines and Subheads
Headlines should be descriptive and action oriented. Keywords should be used in both headlines and subheads to increase SEO, but without repeating the same words in both areas. Clever, witty, and snarky headlines that are popular in newspapers, magazines, and brochures should be avoided since they don't quickly define the content of the page for a reader.
Subheads increase the speed of page navigation. They also help by organizing text into content sections that are easier on the eye.
An article should use a subhead any time a new topic is introduced.
Breaking Information into Chunks
Most content pieces should be 300 to 400 words in length. Longer pieces (over 600 words) should be broken up to appear on multiple pages. According to Nielson, the best results are achieved when writers:
- Begin content articles with the conclusion and write with the inverted pyramid style
- Present one idea per paragraph (since readers will skip additional ideas)
- Highlight keywords or phrases with hypertext links, font variations, bold, italics, and color--but don't over do it!
- Use bullet points for listing 4 or more items (stringing a long list of items together on one row of text is difficult to scan)
- Write pages that function independently without need to reference other pages for explanation
Copy and Tone
Structured writing can be a great tool. But there's a time to throw it away. After all, life is short. Writing is an art and arts are based on the act of expression. So, writing should remain human and convey a personality. Content is king, but it's real readers are people. Plus, sites like Woot.com have proven that entertaining, well-written content provides a highly competitive advantage that attracts.
Because, at the end of the day, writing something worth reading is what matters most.
