Keywords, hyperlinks, SEO, search engine – that’s just the start of what you’ll need to know to write for the web. Hayley Leibowitz explains how to navigate the field of Web writing.
It’s writing isn’t it? How difficult can it be? Well, as an experienced writer of everything ranging from medical studies to feature articles and scriptwriting, I soon discovered that writing for the web is an entirely different monster.
Updating my writing skills
I took the course titled Writing for the Web with SA Writers’ College as I know their standards are high and they deal one-on-one with their students.
As the world changes and writing evolves, pens are replaced by keyboards and paper by screens, I felt it was necessary to update my skills.
Unfortunately I did not have as much time to devote to the course as I would have liked, but it was certainly a learning curve.
About writing for the web
Forget about clever headings and flowing paragraphs. Forget about cryptic notions or traditional hard news.
Rather, seduce the internet with popular keywords, practical headlines and short, simple paragraphs that won’t lose the reader.
People have short attention spans and even shorter memories, and this has never been more true than of those trawling the internet, trying to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Speaking of wheat and chaff, don’t mention that unless you are actually talking about wheat. Then add other relevant keywords and try to make them more than one word.
This would apply to pink elephants and dancing with the devil too. Unless you actually own a pink elephant or you are personally acquainted with the devil, say what you mean. Spell it out. That’s what the internet likes!
Writing for the web comes with practice
Trying to incorporate all these rules into my traditional writing style has certainly been a challenge for this seasoned writer, often resulting in quite stilted writing. It proves one thing. Even once you think you’ve just about honed your craft, think again. You’re never too old to learn.
Written by Writing for the Web Graduate, Hayley Leibowitz. Read her blog at https://hayleyjoyl.wordpress.com
