Getting started with writing for the web
It is rarely the thing that gets a project approved, and often the thing that decides how it goes. A short on-ramp to writing for the web for teams who have not touched it before.
Content is the part of a project most likely to be underestimated and most likely to delay a launch. It is the sort of thing that looks like polish right up until it costs you an enquiry.
Why it matters
People scan before they read. It is worth being explicit about, because assumptions differ quietly. Write the reasoning down alongside the decision, because the reasoning is what changes first.
Your first week
- Find out what is already in place
- Short paragraphs and clear subheadings do the heavy lifting
- Change one thing and measure it
Cut the throat-clearing and start with the point. The teams that handle this well are rarely the ones with the biggest budgets. Budget a little time for it every quarter and it never becomes a project of its own.
What this looks like day to day
Writing for the web is largely an editing job: the first draft is always longer than it needs to be. Three things worth confirming about writing for the web before you move on:
- Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
- Short paragraphs and clear subheadings do the heavy lifting — and you know whether that is true here
- There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped
Worth checking on your own setup before it becomes someone else's problem to fix.