by Leigh Goessl

Created on: June 04, 2009   Last Updated: June 20, 2009

Writing for the web is a little different than traditional print writing. Your primary audience on the Internet is more diverse, and due to this factor, some of the guidelines which apply to writing for a print audience change relevancy when looking to attract a loyal web audience.

The key to successful web writing is to learn how to differentiate your writing to suit your targeted audience. When writing articles for a website, you'll want to pay close attention to several factors before you publish in order to attract more attention.

Here are a few general guidelines and tips for writing website articles:

*Catchy Lead

Web readers do not read in detail, but instead tend to glance through the information to find what they are looking for. If your lead in sentence and first paragraph isn't catchy enough to grab attention the web reader is prone to quickly move on.

The key to grabbing a web reader's attention is to craft an interesting lead to hook their attention. Once you are effectively able to do this, you have crossed a hurdle many writers experience when making the transition from print to web writing.

*Use White Space

White space in web articles is attractive. When you write, it is a good idea to break up your text by using ample amounts of white space. Long paragraphs without frequent paragraph breaks are hard on the web reader's eye and it is almost a guarantee you'll lose the reader's patience.

Additionally it is beneficial to try and use techniques such as bulleted lists, subheaders or other appealing ways to break up text. If formatting is available, use bold or italics formats, but only sparingly and where appropriate. Overuse of these formats can become overkill and make your article unattractive.

*Write Well

Web writing is about good content. If the content isn't good, you'll quickly lose your reader. As you craft your work, think about what it is people want to read. Additionally, as you would with print writing, closely examine your piece for typos, grammar and other editorial errors. An article littered with mistakes is not going to be taken as seriously and chances are you'll lose your readers.

*Be Concise

Short and to the point sentences are more tempting to the web reader. Longer drawn out sentences tend not to be as appealing. A good tip is to get straight to the point and choose words carefully. Wherever possible, say what you need to say and use as few words as possible to illustrate your point.

*References

When writing for

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