Writing For The Web

How Readers Read &
Writing for the Web

February 4, 2010
JOUR 3340 – Online Journalism
 How readers read newspapers & websites
 Helps us understand how we write, how
we use images, how we use multimedia
 http://eyetrack.poynter.org/eyetrack07as
ne.html
Poynter Eyetracking Study

 “This has everything to do with journalism. How
people consume information, how they
comprehend information it is a huge piece of the
puzzle. If you can’t provide information in ways
they can understand it and access it, then you’re
wasting your time as a journalist. And we can’t
afford to waste time.”
◦ Keith Woods, Dean, Poynter Institute of Journalism
“Eyetracking: Poynter’s Study

 “We have learned as an industry we are
backward in research and that we are not seizing
the new technologies and discoveries of recent
years. … As an industry we must improve and
expand, or we dwindle and die.”
◦ Nelson Poynter
 Nov. 2, 1946
Why it matters
 More story text read online, than print
◦ And most read all the text
 Jumps were read
 Two types of readers
◦ Methodical – Mainly ‘print’ readers
 Read top to bottom
 Re-read some material
 Use drop down boxes, nav bars, searches
 Read a higher percentage of text
Key Observations
 Scanners – Mainly online readers
◦ ‘Scan’ headlines and text, never reading any one
story specifically
◦ Read parts of stories, look at photos
◦ Look at story lists to choose stories
 The response (Page 31)
◦ Media has to move to alternative storytelling
◦ More interactive elements
 Q&A, a timeline, a fact box or a list – drew a higher
amount of visual attention, compared to regular text in
print.
 On average, we saw 15 percent more attention to what we call
alternative story forms than to regular text in print. This number
rose to 30 percent in broadsheet format.
Key Observations
 Graphics Elements
◦ Big is better: Headlines & Photos
 Large, color photos (p. 45)
 Mug shots get lost
◦ Online readers use the navigational elements
Key Observations
 Information broken into ‘chunks’ of
information.
 Web users prefer to print out long
documents or save them on their hard
drives.
 Long stories on the web are hard to read.
The more a reader needs to scroll, the
less likely they are to read the story.
Writing Style – ‘Chunking’

Source: Webstyle Guide: http://webstyleguide.com/site/chunk.html
 Make it tight and bright
 Explain
 “Banish gray” – long blocks of text
 Link, link, link
 http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=35378
Style tips from Poynter

 Organizing information into relevant
‘chunks’ helps keep the reader interested.
Facilitates adding links to enhance
interactivity. Be careful: Don’t divide
content into too many parts or readers
will lose interest.
 Chunking is a method to create
consistency of web style, and helps
readers understand the content flow on
your site.
Writing Style – ‘Chunking’

Source: Webstyle Guide: http://webstyleguide.com/site/chunk.html
 Headlines – Compelling –
◦ On the web, headlines sell the story
◦ Six to 10 words
◦ Strong verbs
◦ Most important items first
◦ Question headlines workable
 Blurbs
◦ Summaries of story, often on home page and linked to
full length story
 Briefs
◦ A complete story in just a few sentences.
 Scannable
◦ Remember readers don’t have time. They want to get
the information they want and move on to the next
story.
Writing Style
 Conversational style
 Cross between broadcast writing and print
 Lively verbs, colorful adjectives and distinct
nouns.
 Active voice always!
 Short paragraphs
 Be aware of references to your sources
◦ Consider using full name on second reference
because you don’t know how story may link
Writing Style
 Consider one idea per paragraph – even if it’s
just one sentence.
 Write in easily understood sentences.
 Include links as part of your copy
◦ E.g. Bill Gates [link to his bio] created Microsoft
[link to microsoft.com] at a time when PCs were
just beginning to become commonplace.
 Think Globally. Avoid regional/local terms
that may be misunderstood by the broader
audience.
 Develop a voice, a style, a flow.
Additional Style Tips

 Get to the point
 Story must be told in 50 words ... Then your
reader MIGHT read the rest
 REMEMBER: only about 100-150 lines per
screen… and less if a reader is looking at
story on a PDA.
 Make everything you write relevant.
 Constantly ask yourself:
◦ Why should the reader care about this?
◦ What elements of interactivity can be used to
engage the reader to make the content more
compelling?
Web Story Structure

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How Readers Read &

Writing for the Web

Poynter Eyetracking Study

“Eyetracking: Poynter’s Study

Writing Style – ‘Chunking’

Style tips from Poynter

Writing Style – ‘Chunking’

Additional Style Tips

Web Story Structure

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