Writing Website Content. Part Two - "where do I start?".

Part one of this article dealt with the best writing method to use with website text. Part two now moves on to answer the question "where do I start?".

Start here.

To organise the content writing, complete your webpage list as far as is possible. This is something you will need to do in the early stages of the website project anyway. It is hard to order a website without letting your designer know what is going into it.

To make a webpage list, first put the kettle on. Then jot down the name for each and every page that is going to appear on your website. You have made your start.

Tick them off as you go.

Deal with one page at a time but do not start at the beginning. Leave the homepage until near the end. Doing this prevents countless rewrites. The easiest places to start are the factual pages. The About Us, Privacy Policy and Contact pages are suitable. Begin writing the F.A.Q. pages early so that you can keep adding to them as you go.

F.A.S.Q.

The frequently asked questions (the F.A.Q.) pages are usually the most visited of the factual pages, well ahead of terms and conditions even though they may well share the same information. They are popular because they are so very easy to read, take the time to prepare a good F.A.Q. section. What is a stupid question for you may be pure gold for a visitor.

Once you begin to receive e-Mailed questions from the website consider each one for inclusion in the F.A.Q. If one visitor didn't know the answer, you can be sure there will be another. The standard format for your F.A.Q. pages should be a short question followed by a reasonably short (but not abrupt) answer. For instance:

Q. Do you charge extra for postage?
A. No.

This is so short as to be rude, it suggests you don't have time for your visitors. The next example gives the same answer but with a little customer service sprinkled on top.

Q. Do you charge extra for postage?
A. No, this is included in the stated price. The price you see is the price you pay.

Choose a tone.

Decide early in the process what tone of writing you will set for the entire site. Content writers usually have no difficulty in selecting a formal tone, if this is appropriate the website virtually demands it. Many websites benefit from a more conversational tone. Talk directly to your intended visitor.

Good judgement must be used for the more relaxed styles. What are the words that will best describe the website (cordial, trustworthy, funky)? List the few that really hit the nail on the head. A good website designer will ask for such a list to help design the site, make things easier and do a small list for yourself.

If it will split in two, split it in two.

Remember, your visitors are always in a hurry. If they are looking for something specific, they don't want to browse through page after page. Make each webpage deal with one subject and give that webpage a title that describes the subject exactly.

Again, consider splitting large subjects down into sub-areas and give each one a fresh webpage and title. Make your website content easy to find. Then make it even easier.

Let it flow.

Writing your content will become easier as you break your website further down into small sections. You write what you need to (and probably already know) to deal with a page and then move on to the next one in the website.

If any page presents problems don't let it ruin your momentum. Move on to another and ask a colleague or friend for help with the tricky pages at the end. This will allow the project to begin forming a size and structure.

File it for later use.

If you have larger subjects that your visitors may want to print out, prepare a file containing the entire subject and let them download or print this. You should still break the subject down for those visitors that want to access it online.

If you are using pictures as well as text or need a high quality finish to the file, consider paying to have it made into a portable document format (.pdf) which is far easier to read on screen than a webpage but still prints perfectly.

For simple pages of text, the following file formats are considered standard and found in most text editors and word processors:

• .rtf (Rich Text Format)
• .doc (Document)
• .txt (basic text)