Writing for the Internet

While there are many creative ways of producing content for the web with graphics, animation, audio, video and dynamic information, the vast majority of web content is text. Here are a few guidelines for writing effective text for the web:

• Avoid creating large bodies of text. Don't over estimate your visitors patience for reading.
• Group concepts structurally, separate each group by short to the point sentences.
• Lists are better than paragraphs.
• Put key concepts at the beginning and end of a body of text.
• Emphasize text in layers of detail.

Appearance

I once saw a website for an Irish music festival that looked like it was for a techno rave.

The appearance of a website is a combination of the graphics, layout and color scheme. Again, keep in mind the short attention span of your visitors. You don't want to overwhelm them with complex or potentially confusing imagery. Make sure that your appearance fits with your business and with who you are. Fun businesses whould look fun, while serious businesses should loook serious.