Susannah Ross
Communication Services

Writing for the Web (Chambers Desktop Guides)

by Susannah Ross
(Chambers 2007, £6.99)

Part One: Thinking about Websites

What's so special about the Web? - describes the characteristics of the Web compared with other media.
What is your website for? - takes you through the process of sorting out your ideas and rigorously eliminating all but the essential things you want your website to do.
Who is it for? - uses exercises to help you focus on your target users and write for them.
What's it all about? - gives you practical guidance in organising material for a non-linear medium.
The language of the Web - looks at the kind of language you should use on the Web and the differences between written and spoken English.

Part Two: Thinking about Writing

Using as few words as possible - gives you tips and exercises to make your writing concise.
Choosing the right words - gives you advice on what to avoid and how to improve a piece of bad writing.
The functions of words - reminds you of the mechanics of the language, the grammar.
Constructing sentences - helps you put words in the right order and make your sentences flow.
Spelling - gives you advice on spelling consistently.
Punctuation - helps you use punctuation effectively.

Part Three: Putting it into Practice

How does it look? - helps you make text easy to scan and use fonts and colours well.
Stories, summaries, headlines and lists - takes you through some essential skills in Web writing.
Writing pages with a purpose - reminds you of the different functions of the home page, transaction pages, forms, error pages and so on.
Writing for search engines - goes through the ways of helping search engines find your site.
The role of the editor - reminds you that a website needs constant attention and a strong editorial hand.