• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Writers' Treasure

Effective writing advice for aspiring writers

  • About
  • Contact
  • Services
    • Editing and proofreading services
    • Critiquing services
    • Create a website services
  • Creative Writing 101
    • Opening Chapters
  • Writing Tips
You are here: Home / Web Writing / Tips and tricks to write effectively for web readers – Web Writing 101

By Idrees Patel

Tips and tricks to write effectively for web readers – Web Writing 101

You know that web writing is a lot different from print writing.

It’s because web readers are different from print readers.

Why is that, though? What makes web readers different?

Is it because they skim content before reading it (and many times they never read the full content)? Is it because they read headlines first to determine whether the content is any good? Is it because their attention spans are shorter than ever? Or is it a combination of all three?

If you said the last option, congratulations: you’re right.

The fact is: if you want your web writing to be effective web writing, you need to ensure that it follows all the correct requirements which web readers love. But what are they, anyway? Let’s see!

Web readers have short attention spans, and they’re getting shorter

Web readers have short attention spans. That’s nothing new. But they’re getting shorter than ever. So what should you, the web content writer do? Make your content more concise. A web reader reads your content because he needs to find a specific bit of information, therefore he skims the content. He’s not going to sit around and read your article word-for-word.

Takeaway: make it easier for the reader to skim and scan your content. Read on to find out how exactly to do it.

Web readers love headings and subheadings

It’s no secret that headlines are important. The thing we have to do is clear: make our headlines great. Some specific types of headlines such as “How to do [task]”, “7 ways to [task]”, etc. may be old now, but they still work brilliantly.

So headlines are covered. But what about subheadings? The article you’re reading now has them. They’re extremely vital as they make the reader’s task to grab information easier. You, as the writer, should make subheadings clear (clarity is better than ambiguity), irresistible and they should achieve their main task: make the reader read on.

Tip: the more subheadings the better. But use them only if you need to (you’re not going to use them if you have an excessively short piece of content).

Web readers love short paragraphs

In school, we were taught paragraphs. One idea per paragraph. So why is that even on the web, where short paragraphs matter more than ever, people write one giant block of text with anything and everything squeezed in it? It puts the reader off and is detrimental to the writer.

On the web, short paragraphs work well with the short attention spans and the tendency to scan content, since they’re easier to scan. (Looking for a particular sentence or phrase from a paragraph? Which one would you find easier to skim: the long one or the short one? Short, of course). I’m not completely against long paragraphs, as they may do fine once in a while, but on the web, they’re best avoided. (Note: if you’re talking about short and shorter paragraphs, it’s good idea to use both to break the monotony).

Web readers prefer short sentences

Short sentences are in. Twitter accepts only 140 characters. Some other blogging and microblogging services do the same. This is a continuation of the previous point. Short paragraphs are great. Same goes for short sentences. But there’s no harm in using a long sentence sometimes when you need it, and when you can actually handle it (see what I did there?). Use longer sentences sparingly. The best thing to do is keep all things moderate (even extremely short, one-word sentences).

Web readers prefer lists (just as long as they’re done right)

People say lists are overdone. That’s not the case. Bad lists are overdone. On the web you’re going to find lots of list articles and lists in general which are badly written and edited. But a good list doesn’t have those characteristics. A list, as long as it is relevant, well-written and concise can be more preferable than blocks of paragraphs on the web. Why? It depends on the content, but again, lists are easier to scan, easier to read, and easier to act on.

A combination of paragraphs and lists works great as well, so experiment with what works best for you!

Web readers prefer great content

It all comes back to square one. You can have headlines, subheadlines, short paragraphs, short sentences with the occasional long one thrown in, lists, etc etc. But if the content isn’t good, nothing will work. If the idea sucks, everything will suck.

Above all, what web readers prefer is great content. If you can’t write well, then it doesn’t matter if you write on the web or in print, the result will always be the same: no readers.

Web writing which satisfies web readers is effective web writing

Good writing is effective writing. So if web readers like your web writing, then and only then will it be effective. And then and only then will your web writing become great web writing.

Conclusion: Write something which the reader cares about, in a way and format (short paragraphs, headings etc.) which makes him go on and read it.

Have your say

Congratulations, you’ve arrived at the end of this article! Did you skim through it or read every word? How was it? Good? Concise? Rambling, in spite of all the effort I made? Only you can tell. So whatever you have to tell me, go on and say it in the comments section.

Don’t forget to read Writing Tips: How to Write Better if you want to become a great writer, and don’t forget to get your free updates from Writers’ Treasure here.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • Email

Further Reading:

  1. The Need to Say More with Less – Concise Writing Tips
  2. Warning: Do You Know that Your Paragraphs are Not Good Enough?
  3. Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Creative Writing
  4. Web Writing vs. Print Writing
  5. An Introduction to Academic Writing

Filed Under: Web Writing Tagged With: paragraphs, web writing

Idrees Patel

Idrees Patel is a Bachelor of Management Studies graduate, and is located in India. His goal for Writers’ Treasure to make it a resource which provides in-depth and effective writing advice for writers.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dr. Bloom says

    July 4, 2013 at 4:51 AM

    Excellent article! Everyone who has a website/blog should read it. I look forward to learning more from you.

    Reply
    • Idrees Patel says

      July 4, 2013 at 6:52 PM

      Thanks for the nice comment! If you want to read more from the archives, be sure to read Creative Writing 101 and Writing Tips.

      Keep commenting and best regards
      Idrees Patel

      Reply
  2. Micheal Thompson says

    March 12, 2014 at 6:31 PM

    Thanks for this useful and helpful tips, One thing I can add is to be more unique in content. Keep it up!

    Reply
  3. mpishipoa says

    November 11, 2015 at 11:09 AM

    Just found your site. Looking forward to reading more. Love the article on web writing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Treasure Trove – the Writers’ Treasure Newsletter

Subscribe for free and get all future articles + exclusive content delivered straight to your email inbox.

Popular articles

  • Common Mistakes Made by Creative Writers
  • How to Master Clarity in Writing
  • Why Hunting for Plots is Worthless
  • Writing Tip: Experiment with Free-writing
  • 1 Year Later: How I Improved My Writing
  • Pen and Paper vs. Computer: Which Do You Use?
  • Web writing 101: how to write effectively for web readers
  • Blog topics

    • Academic Writing
    • Creative Writing Tips
      • Fiction Writing
      • Poetry Writing
    • Editing and Proof Reading
    • Magnetic Writing
    • Reviews
    • Site News
    • Sponsored Articles
    • Technical Writing
    • Web Writing

    Recent articles

    • How to create character profiles for creative writing
    • How to professionally edit your book
    • How to cite sources in content writing
    • 10 easy tips for better business writing
    • Five tips to help you become a better writer

    About Idrees Patel

    Idrees Patel is a Bachelor of Management Studies graduate, and is located in India. His goal for Writers’ Treasure to make it a resource which provides in-depth and effective writing advice for writers.

    Learn more about him & this blog →

    Footer

    Sign up for Treasure Trove

    Write for us

    Do you want to write for Writers' Treasure? I accept guest articles for potential publication, but I will only publish the best of the best, the ones that are extremely high quality. You receive a link back to your website and exposure on a growing writing community. Sounds like a deal? Read the guest article guidelines »

    Topics

    • Academic Writing
    • Creative Writing Tips
    • Editing and Proof Reading
    • Fiction Writing
    • Magnetic Writing
    • Poetry Writing
    • Reviews
    • Site News
    • Sponsored Articles
    • Technical Writing
    • Web Writing

    Copyright © 2021 Writers' Treasure - All Rights Reserved.

    • About
    • Contact
    • Services
    • Archives
    • Creative Writing 101
    • Writing Compelling Opening Chapters
    • Writing Tips
    • Free Updates
    • Privacy Policy
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.