Writing Words for the Web.

• Author: Bernstel, Janet Bigham
• Position: Internet marketing in the banking industry

There is only one important question about Web content: How do you produce stuff so good that customers can't resist returning to the website again and again?

Before we can answer that query, we first have to ponder another perplexity: What exactly is Web content? In most worthwhile revolutions, rebels change the status quo, mocking the old rules and redefining reality. Take the radical use of the term "content" by that upstart media, the Internet. For most writers, content has always meant text. When the Internet Age began, content creators wrote volumes of verbiage and heaps of hyperbole, but everything was built on words.

Not so anymore.

To satisfy the cravings of its users, Internet solution providers have stretched beyond packaged words to offer anything that keeps customers informed and entertained enough to return to the site. Content can be as nonverbal as an interactive calculator.

"People have different ideas on what content is," says John Morkes, who presents the "Content Design & Usability-- Writing for the Web" seminar worldwide for Neilson Norman Group of Mountain View, Calif. "Marketing people think content is their marketing message, a way to validate their company. The user wants information to help solve a problem."

Unfortunately, there is often a mismatch between these two goals.

How to write for the Web

Whether creating your content in-house or outsourcing, you should know the elements of good Web writing. For starters, it's not print writing-yet that's what often goes up first on a new site.

"If you're dealing with print writers to reformulate your existing print content for the Web, remember that Web writing is different," he says. "You're dealing with shorter attention spans and you're competing with millions of other websites for someone's time and attention."

It helps to have a writer who has been exposed to website usability and design. That's not easy with such a new medium. At the very least, Morkes recommends that Web content creators become familiar with the guidelines outlined in a white paper produced by Morkes, along with Jakob Nielsen of Nielson Norman Group.

The three guidelines are as simple as they are sound: When writing for the Web, be concise, be scannable and be objective. Here's what they mean by this:

Be Condse

Make sure the content is in the right place, and be brief, especially in the introductory pages. Morkes says that people are willing to read on the Web once they find what they want. It's the finding that's hard. They also want:

* Useful information.

* Brief text that gives information fast.

* A Web page that makes its points quickly.

* A Web page that fits on one screen, without the need for scrolling.

"Always remember that less is better," advises Morkes.

Be Scannable

Scanning saves time for the reader, so make the content easy to process. You can make it easier to scan with items like headlines, bold text, large type, bulleted lists, topic sentences and tables of contents. If they can get to the content they want very quickly, it reflects well on the organization.

"I want to get to the information and make a decision," says Morkes. "For example, I may want to compare your products and services. What are the specific benefits and value to your bank?"

Be Objective

While strong website content can strengthen the bank's brand, too much "brand" in your content can...