Get ‘em in, give ‘em what they need, and get ‘em out.

That, in a nutshell, is my web writing philosophy. The majority of your visitors come to your site seeking information on a product, service, or your company. If they find it easily and logically, you have a better chance they will move deeper into your site to purchase or communicate their willingness to dialog with you, perhaps sign-up for a newsletter.

We also have to write and design the way folks read and scan online. The process is different than reading print. Online reading is slower and more arduous. Accordingly, folks rarely will read every word. They’ll scan for meaning and keyphrases of interest.

See this new article from Jakob Nielsen, F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content. Great stuff. Forward it to clients, too. (From the same site, more great web writing resources.)

More on General Web Usability

Are you busy? I know I am. That’s why I like sites that don’t treat me like a moron. (I’ve been online since the mid-80s and I’m still occasionally stumped by sites that make me feel stupid.) I think we need to make this entire web-centric process seamless and effort-free. Here’s one of my favorite books on the topic. I’ve recommend to ANYONE tasked with writing, designing, or even thinking about web work.

Unlike it’s title, it WILL make you think. But the process is easy and so commonsensical that you’ll wonder why so many sites from the biggest companies fail in their promise to deliver the "goods" to its visitors.

Remember, even in web content writing, it’s all about the reader!