by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: August 27, 2010

At the institutional level, most Helium articles have a minimum word count requirement of 400 words. Marketplace, recipes and creative writing articles will call for more or fewer words. The general maximum word count is 1,600 words. 

Helium writers strive for a "magazine style" of article writing, but also provide an encyclopedic collection of knowledge articles. When we look at online magazines, it is clear that there are major and lengthy articles as well as smaller articles. This means that there is room for articles of many sizes at Helium, as long as they are within the set limits.

But from the reader's and rater's perspective, articles are more about the words that are required for a good treatment of the topic. Too much filler or detail can cause some readers to move on to a more concise article. Too little information can cause readers to move on to a more comprehensive article.

Online readers may have time or attention restrictions and look for articles that either get to the point or get to the answer as quickly and effectively as possible. This audience calls for comprehensive and less wordy knowledge articles.

The topic often drives the word length. A major historical era or event, for example, might call for more words and a longer article. A person who wants a recipe will appreciate a brief introduction and then the actual recipe. A debate might call for any size of article.

There can be a problem when the title is in the "how to" category or simply does not need 400 words. The steps for decluttering and defragmenting the computer's hard drive are very simple and there might  not be much more to write!  So, there has to be enough extra language to meet the 400 word minimum without wasting the reader's time. Most computer aficionados can easily include information about hard drive clutter and what defragmenting is about.

The end goal is to provide an interesting, readable and helpful article without turning it into a thousand word extravaganza of too much complicated detail.

Some titles are broad titles. While there are creative ways to summarize all of the fashion styles of the Victorian era, such an article is bound to contain more words than a discussion of the new Fall season skirt length in the USA.

Other titles can trigger a lengthy discussion of a scientific, medical, professional, philosophical or legal issues. It can be a challenge to stay below the maximum limit without sacrificing important conceptual components

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