17. Less is more, baby

Web language has its own style and form – it’s short, sharp and snappily dressed. Learn how to write effective copy for the web.

Writin’ propa, in’it – not that difficult, blood. Get down with those crazy kidz.

Language is a beautiful thing; we have a whole dictionary of words and we have always been told to take our time explaining things with them. Then along came the information superhighway to add to our busy-busy, no-time-to-stop lifestyles. Net result – web language was born.

Not Strictly Black Tie

Web language is short, less formal and at times quite chatty, but this does not mean to say that the basic rules of grammar and spelling are any less important – it just means that they are slightly more bendy. There is no excuse for mistakes, but if you can be clever with your copy and can imbue your web pages with a bit of humour users will be extremely forgiving (and grateful).

Sound Bytes

No matter how well crafted each word of text is on any given web page, only a small percentage of them will actually be read. We, the users, will scan quickly, hoping that our eye catches something related to what it is that drove us to this page in the first place. It has to be very well written copy indeed to first gain our attention and second to make us want to change our direction and read more – but it can be done.

Keep your text short, snappy and focused, and make your links obvious. Entice readers by teasing us to read on; writing for the web is all about fighting for users’ attention. They will take what they think is on offer and leave, without even a by-your-leave.

Observe your competitors’ sites shamelessly. Are they doing something that is different or – admit it, it is possible – something better? If they are funny, make your text funnier. If their site is a little tongue-in-cheek, compete with wit and take the war of words to them.

Stop Jabbering

As a rule of thumb, try not to use more than three paragraphs to describe a product or service. Paraphrasing the old maxim about presentations – tell them what it is, tell them again and remind them what they’ve just read. Be economical with your words in the first instance. By all means allow users to find out more, such as technical specifications, testimonials, related products, etc., but don’t let it get in the way of the synopsis. More often than not, this will be enough to secure the sale, or get the message across, before the user moves on. Users like to know that there is more information available, should they wish, but often just that knowledge often acts as the substitute of actually reading it. The trick is to have information to hand, but for it not to be fighting for space with the sound bite.

How did it go?

Q. Editorial say that there is no way that we can re-write our entire site, it has taken years to compile. Is there some other way in which we can improve the site?

A. No one is suggesting that the text you have written is wasted. It’s not. It’s the factual copy that will give your visitors confidence in you and your products, but they still need to be teased. Just an opening sentence for every product will do the trick.

Q. Our site is humorous and snappy. Surely we’re already there?

A. Good for you, and you’re probably right. But it might be worth getting a friend to try and re-hash a single page of text for you in the style that they think is better. This will either reinforce your confidence or show your house style might have a limited appeal.

Here is an idea for you…

Choose a random page from your web site – if you have an e-commerce store, choose a product description page. Now rewrite the copy as if you were describing that product to a friend in a bar. Your friend wants to know what is so great about this product and how it is going to improve his life much more than long technical specifications or how good your company or the manufacturer thinks it is. Using this concept, look to re-write the copy across your site. Keep the long, factual descriptions, but put something far more snappy, chatty and friendly as your opening gambit. Your users will appreciate it and just look to your sales for evidence of its effectiveness.

Defining idea…

‘I pray you bear me henceforth from the noise and rumour of the field, where I may think the remnant of my thoughts in peace, and part of this body and my soul with contemplation and devout desires.’

William Shakespeare

Defining idea…

‘But what is the difference between literature and journalism?… Journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. That is all.’

Oscar Wilde