Develop Content for Communication

The Web is the first truly interactive mass medium. Because of this, a unique approach must be assumed in order that your communication gratify, entertain, and communicate with your readers.

The two most critical factors that impact on the online 'reader' are time and control. A person who accesses content online is aware that, if they can't get what they want here at Site A, they're sure to be able to find it at Site B, C, or even Z. So they're always conscious of making the most of the time they spend on your site.

Secondly, the Web puts users in control of their online destiny. If the activities they undertake on your site don't deliver what they want, when they want it, they'll leave.

For the writer, this means pressure! The Web writer must present the content the reader wants as clearly as possible. Navigation is critical in communicating to the user what they can expect as they pass through your site (each click moving them one step closer to their goal).

So, to be successful, a Web writer has to be more than a great creator of word combinations. The Web writer has to understand the configuration, architecture and capabilities of the Web. They have to understand how people read on screen, and how they deal with the demands that the writer places on them.

Content as a Product

Too often we talk about users 'reading' text, but this term in itself implies a range of characteristics that don't often apply online. Reading is what you do with a newspaper or the latest best-seller. But the key to users' online 'reading' habits is their strong goal-orientation.

Users on your business Website aren't looking to be swept away by deathless prose. They want a 'content product' -- something they can use, action, or implement. The difference from the writer's perspective, is that users don't want to read what's written -- they want to know the facts that are presented. In truth, many users have no intention of 'reading': their intention is simply to consume.

For instance, I might go to the GE site looking for details on a new fridge. I don't want to read information, though: I just want to know it. I want facts presented so clearly and simply that I don't really even notice that I've had to look for them, or concentrate long enough to absorb them.

The Writer is Not Alone

Of course, this apparently utilitarian approach doesn't have to relegate the Web writer to the limited domain of bullet points and boredom. Indeed, text conveys the content of a Website, but it also helps to reinforce the site's branding, through tone and style.

However, the writer is by no means the only one charged with creating mood or conveying brand attributes. They're part of a team that presumably includes the talents of designers, developers, maybe even an information architect -- and communicating the brand in a way that allows users to identify with its characteristics is the responsibility of all.

For instance, if one of the key selling points of your Web design business is a quick response -- that you cut through the clutter to get to the heart of what the client wants, then swiftly build their online product, making use of cutting edge technology -- you won't want reams of text on your promotional site. The writer needs to know this, but so does the designer, otherwise you could end up with a maximum of 70 words per page, set out in a text space that was designed for at least 500. Writers and designers need to work closely with an information architect, to ensure that the content layout and structure meets the audience's needs. And developers need to know what the content will consist of, and what features it will include, so they can develop the site's functionality to best meet these requirements.

Communication is a team effort. Building a Website shouldn't start with a design, nor with copy. It should start with collaboration.