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To make text easy to read, there needs to be plenty of contrast between
background colour and font colour. Purple text on a red background is unreadable. Any text on a busy background is difficult to read. If you want a patterned background, that’s fine, just change colour of table cell in which your text appears to white or a pale solid colour and make your text black or very dark. Here’s an example: http://www.racing-pigeon- fancier.com
10. Use plain English.
Most web pages, ezines and ebooks should stay away from academic writing. If you’re not writing a thesis, don’t write like a professor. Instead you should be aiming at a grade level of between 6 and 8. I’m not telling you to dumb down your text, but to make it clearer, shorter and easier to read.
11. Write in a chatty, conversational style.
Avoid corporate-speak. Corporate-speak is language that speaks to no one in particular. Instead, visualize one of your readers and write to that person. If you write to someone you know, your style will automatically be more casual, friendly and readable. People will feel you’re speaking directly to them. Yes, your style might not click with everyone, but better that than clicking with no one.
12. Use contractions.
To make your writing easier to read, use contractions. "I’ll tell you more next month" reads easier than "I will tell you more next month." It’s also less formal. Your ezine or sales copy is not place for formal writing. If you currently write for print publications and want to start writing for Web, some of rules you live by will have to be abandoned.
13. Choose a sans serif font for your text.
On Internet, a sans-serif font like Verdana is much easier to read than Times New Roman (serif font). In print, opposite is true and this confuses many people who go from writing for print to writing for Web. Use serif fonts for headings, to provide variety. However, do not use more than two or three fonts altogether. Otherwise, your text will look amateurish. It will also be hard to read, as your visitors’ eyes will constantly need to adjust to changing styles. Note: Virtually every book you read in print is type-set in a serif font like Times New Roman...every page, even chapter headings. It’s not boring and no one thinks twice about it. In same way, you don’t need to use different fonts on every page of your web site. Just remember, online Verdana is font of choice.
14. Specify a font in your HTML code.
Remember to specify a font in your HTML code. If you leave font at default, most web browsers will render your text in Times New Roman. You don’t want this to happen.
It’s a good idea to specify a family of fonts so PC and Mac browsers can choose their own pre-installed fonts. I use this family of fonts: "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif."
Note: As a last resort, if none of first three fonts are installed, "sans-serif" tells a browser to use any other sans- serif font it has available.
15. Clean up typos and spelling mistakes.
I know it sounds obvious to tell you to check your spelling, but bad spelling and typos are rampant on Web.
Run your spell-checker, but also eyeball your content several times. Your spell-checker will not catch typos like "form" instead of "from." Print out your text and ask someone else to read it...preferably, someone who can spell.
I'm not just being picky, by way. Spelling errors and typos slow a reader down and may even confuse them. You never want to do that. If reader loses momentum, you’re dead; they’ll likely stop reading and go away.
16. Use exclamation marks sparingly!!!!
The Internet has spawned a love affair with exclamation mark. This poor, beleaguered symbol is so overworked on Web I’m surprised it hasn’t up and quit. It’s very amateurish to saturate your text with exclamation marks. It signals HYPE!!!!! And insincerity!!!
Prospects will become customers when they trust you. How much trust do you put in an ad or sales letter that’s full of exclamation marks? Your readers are just as wary as you.
Note: There is a place for exclamation marks in impassioned advertising copy. Just don’t over-do it. And never use more than one exclamation point at end of a sentence.
17. Remove "that" wherever possible.
Example 1: Call now so you don’t miss our July special. Example 2: Call now so that you don’t miss our July special. What’s difference? You glide right over words in first example, but in second example, word "that" halts you for a split second. And as you know by now, any stumbling block, no matter how minor, can mean bye-bye reader.
This isn’t all there is to know about writing for Internet, of course. But if you follow these simple rules, you’ll go a long way toward keeping your readers glued to your text. Hopefully, long enough to entice them to sign up for your newsletter, join your affiliate program, or buy your product.
Take-Away Tip: Remember, most online readers are actually scanners. To get scanners to stop long enough to read your content, you must make your text visually appealing and effortless to read. Use short, simple sentences, plain English, contractions, short paragraphs, lots of sub-headlines and a friendly voice.
Andrea Wilson is a writer, web designer and author of the email newsletter "From Niche to Rich!" You can email Andrea at andrea@ablewebs.com. Subscribe to her newsletter at http://www.ablewebs.com/newsletter.htm. Visit Andrea’s web site at http://www.ablewebs.com.
