Usable Words

Language and writing

on the web and beyond

Meet my new site

As you can see, I have a brand new website. (Well, you can’t see it if you’re reading this via an RSS reader, so do you mind clicking through just this once?)

Rather than posting something long, I’ll give you a chance to have a look around. But I do have some people to thank, most importantly Rikki Bochow and Stuart Steel at Acorn Web who built the site for me.

I think Rikki’s done a fantastic job of designing an attractive site that’s almost all text. And Stu isn’t just generous with his employees’ time; he’s also a fount of great ideas.

One of his best ideas, in fact, was the “interactive demo” which you can get to from every non-blog page on the site. Have a look at it, it’s pretty nifty. While we’re at it, I’ve got an offer for you, loyal readers (or some of you at least). If you’ve made it all the way through the demo, you’ll see that one of the things I try to illustrate is the importance of links.

Here’s the offer

The only thing is, the bits of linked text in the demo don’t point to anything yet. Would you like one of them to point to something you’ve written? I’d be happy to do so, if you’ve written something that clearly and succinctly illustrates one of the following points:

  • Most web users don’t have a lot of time and are doing several things at once
  • On the web people tend to skim
  • Use keywords strategically (rather than stuffing your site with them)
  • Make link text useful to readers
  • Tell readers what you want them to do next

So if you have anything that might be suitable, drop me a line. (If you have more than one, feel free to send me all of them, but I won’t publish more than one link per person.) No strings!

Oh, and before anyone suggests this, I’m already planning to offer a bookmark/Stumble friendly version of the demo.

Anyway, enjoy the website, and I’d love to hear your feedback. (This to Glenn at Divine Write for the very useful feedback he’s already given.)

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Posted by Angus Gordon at 2:20 pm on April 28th, 2009. Read comments (6) and join in... »
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6 comments.

  1. Nice looking design and I like the demo. Cool effects. Plus, the disqus comment system is my favorite.

    Posted by thejimgaudet on April 29th, 2009.

  2. Thanks Jim! Yes, I've just switched over to Disqus and I like it a lot.

    Posted by Angus Gordon on April 29th, 2009.

  3. Did you notice a traffic bump after you installed it? When I installed FB Connect and Disqus I started getting about 100 views a day from the 2. Then after a month is stopped again :(

    Posted by thejimgaudet on April 29th, 2009.

  4. Yes, I did get a traffic bump…temporary, unfortunately. It was quality
    traffic too! (Low bounce rate.)

    Posted by Angus Gordon on April 29th, 2009.

  5. Cool. Text-based is a challenge.

    Posted by elsewhere on April 29th, 2009.

  6. Yeah, I hear ya..I had the same thing. I grabbed a few RSS readers during that time.. :)

    Posted by thejimgaudet on April 30th, 2009.

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How does something like this become good web writing?

Cut out the fat.

Break it up.

Plug in the keywords.

Add the links.

The call to action.

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Writing content for the world wide web web content is different from writing for brochures, magazines, or other print media. Good web copywriters know what web users need (the reasons they use the web, what they are looking for, and their habits), and how to help them get it. Here's what they do. There are five main elements of effective web writing.

1: Keep it web content short and relevant

First, Most web users don't have a lot of time and are doing several things at once - checking their email, updating their Facebook status, browsing newspaper sites, and maybe even working. Your target audience needs to know you're exactly what they're looking for...right away.

So the best thing to do is to write web content in short, punchy sentences. Write directly to the customer, as if you're talking to one person. And cut out anything that's extraneous, any words or phrases you don't need.

2: Lay it out for people who skim

Second, On the web people tend to skim, and they get intimidated by big, uninterrupted blocks of text. Use signposting methods such as

to break up the page and also to make your readers focus on your main points so that they are unmissable.

3: Use keywords strategically

Third, Although you're mainly writing for people, you have another audience: that audience is search engines. To make search engines such as Google love you, it's necessary to use keywords strategically, in web content but preferably without making your text read awkwardly.

4: Use links in web content to help people navigate

Fourth, well-written Web content should make it easier for people to find their way around a website. Use hyper links liberally, and make sure you always think about what's useful to readers when you decide on a label for them.

Finally, you should always try to 5: Include a call to action

Tell readers what you want them to do next. You'll be quite surprised how often they go ahead and do it.

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