How can you write web content that is easy to skim?

When writing for the web, I disagree that you shouldn't use jargon or slang, I think you should. Writing for the web should be casual and have a friendly tone. It should be less stuffy and more fun. Using trending words will capture your target audience's attention faster and be much more effective since you will be speaking directly to them, in their language.

"Simple sentences worked for Hemingway, didn't they? Even when he was drunk on his ass, he was a f*cking genius." This is a quote from writing genius, Stephen King, about fellow writing genius, Ernest Hemingway. Many writers feel the need to use big words and complex sentences to make themselves feel smart to the reader. They forget that they're NOT the main character: The reader is. All writing has a goal. - To inform - To inspire - To entertain Writers forget that they're there to help the reader, not the other way around. So: - Make your writing concise - Use lists to lighten the mental load - Use short sentences to aid understanding Do this and your writing will be clear and most importantly VALUABLE to the reader.

Es mucho mejor utilizar un tono cercano que utilizar miles de sinónimos que a nadie le interesa encontrar su significado. Una escritura fresca atrae a más potenciales lectores que una recargada. Escribe lo que tú querrías leer sin aburrirte.

My golden rule for writing web content: Make it conversational. Don't be afraid to use a contraction or end on a preposition. In 9/10 of my split tests, when I took a risk with more flavor and less formality, it paid off. And read your sentences out loud once or twice. If they sound clunky, see where you can swap out a word or re-work your sentence structure. Make 5-10 versions of your header/body copy/CTA and see what sticks. Usually, I end up Frankenstiening fragments from each version into the final copy. Keep it conversational, toss in some flair, and test your way into the best version.

Use the language that your audience is using. As much as possible, keep your sentences simple. Use the active voice as much as possible. But be willing to strike a balance with the passive ones.

Formatting is the easiest way to 10X your writing. The days of people reading huge blocks of text are over. Dead. People no longer have time nor the interest to spend time trying to understand your writing. People skim first. You must make it easy to give the reader maximum value in return for their time. How? - By grabbing attention with a killer hook - By using plenty of white space to aid readability - By using lists to accelerate the rate at which you give value By doing this you will create writing that is skimmable, easy-to-read and will provide the reader with the maximum value. Good luck!

Plan ahead by creating an outline for your text. What will the title be? What are the questions you wish to discuss? A structured outline keeps your text aligned with its purpose. It keeps the rhythm of information, which makes it easier to read and skim. Visually, crowded text is tiring and boring. That is why you need to break it up with a subheading. It helps readers find the information they seek easily. Break it down even more with supporting images, graphs, and video.? This strategy is more pleasing to the eye and also caters to readers with various reading styles. Those who wish to get instant comprehension of the data you present will get it from a chart or graph rather than reading the text.

It's easy to underestimate the power of punctuation. A well-placed em dash, colon, or exclamation mark will do wonders for your copy. Experiment with less common symbols and see if they make an impression. Even in your CTAs. It may look strange to see an em dash in a button, but added with intention, it can be brilliant.

To make your web content easy to skim, you should break up your text. Don't put it all in one big paragraph or long sentence. You should know how to separate each point into different smaller paragraphs. Each paragraph should only contain short explanations for the main points. Images or any other visuals should also be included. This is so that your audience can understand by just seeing the visuals as well reading the short texts.

When creating easily skimmable content, the initial question to pose is whether you, as a reader, would find it appealing and why. A helpful starting point is to reflect on your experiences with textbooks, especially those critical moments before an examination when the goal is to absorb as much study material as possible. Where do you gravitate? Towards key takeaways, graphs, and highlighted texts. To replicate this approach in your content, structure it with clear, easy-to-read points, intersperse highlighted key details and graphs throughout the piece, and for more extended content, conclude with a section featuring key takeaways.

You should remember to write for the screen. This is because things look different when on paper and when on the screen. Your contents should be easily readable on any type of devices. Don't write contents that look better on certain types of devices only. Your contents should also include clickable calls to action. This is so that your audience can click on it to get to another part of your web contents.

Quick tips for optimal screen readability: 1. Use high contrast between the text and background. A dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background often works best. 2. Choose the right text size. A minimum font size of 16px is usually recommended for the body text. You can have great content, but if others cannot read it on their device then it won’t have a positive impact! Avoid that common mistake by testing your content to see if it can be easily read without squinting or zooming in.

This is a clear example where the media used to present your documentation/ information has an impact on what and how you deliver material. In this case it is beneficial to provide summary details. To enable 'skim' reading. Links, where appropriate, to more detailed material should be provided. So, readers looking for additional information, etc., can easily find it.

Short paragraphs are mandatory in this day and age. Most people read on mobile devices, and if you can barely squeeze 2 paragraphs into one mobile screen size, they are probably too long. Using a well-thought-out mix of longer and shorter sentences, as well as sentence fragments, is one way to add "looks" to your writing. Also, I sometimes write 2 or 3 shorter sentences in one paragraph, then place a "connector" sentence out in the open, before moving on to another group of sentences. Adding a list or two is always a nice bonus... however... don't add more than 2 or 3, unless it feels completely natural in that post. Some people use bold text (and weird fonts)... I'm kind of against it. I use plain text, with few symbols like 1??2??3??

Sans mots-clés spécifique, votre texte ne serait qu'un charabia, un conglomérat de mots qui ne veulent strictement rien dire. Et comment allez vous utiliser des mots-clés auxquels vous n'avez pas pensé au préalable ? 1. Utilisez des outils de recherche de mots clé type : ubbersuggest, semrush, kwfinder... 2. Etudiez le volume de chaque mot-clé en fonction du résultat que vous souhaitez obtenir 3. N'ignorez pas un point important, vous écrivez pour des être humains, pas des robots. Pensez aussi aux différentes intentions de recherche, aux différentes questions que se poseraient votre audience et apportez-y une réponse à travers votre contenu.

You should also use keywords and phrases in your web contents. This is that your audience can easily find it on the internet. Your phrases and keywords should reflect the contents of your web. This is so that your audience can find your web page by just typing it in things like Google. Your phrases and keywords should be included in your headlines or title of the contents. This is so that your audience would know what it is by just reading the title.

I believe care should be taken here. Particularly with respect to abbreviations. Material heavy in acronyms and keywords can 'turn off' readers. Though the nature of the topic may require such usage. So consider supporting readers. Particularly those new to the topic, etc. So that they can easily clarify the meaning of the abbreviations used, etc. Remember, consider the audience that the content is targeting and adjust accordingly. Bearing in mind the nature of the media being used to present your content.

One of the reasons I always discourage people from writing on 5th grade level is the lack of opportunities to rank on search engines. Using a more "colorful" language, "stretching" your vocabulary, can not only help you rank for some unexpected keywords, but it makes you a better writer as well. Using only simple language can never really paint such vivid pictures in our readers' minds. Sometimes you may even fail to get your message across to the other side, by not using appropriate synonyms in the right place. And if your readers are confused, they can't follow a logical story in your post, they will tune out quickly, and your retention goes down drastically. Consequently, Google deranks your page.

Keywords are key, as long as you’re including valuable information around them and using them accurately rather than as a buzzword.

Leading with your problem-solving foot does wonders to build credibility. Listing your brand first in a "Top 10 Ways to XYZ" is an instant turn-off. And littering your page with "Buy now" CTAs might appease your product managers, but it often leaves your users feeling pressured. Remember those perfume-pushers at the mall who want to spritz you as you step one foot past the metal detectors? It feels like that. Advocate for your users. Give them expert-led info that'll make their lives better. Brand trust isn't easily built, but it's easily lost.

Credibilidade também vem do formato do texto. N?o adianta publicar algo com 2 mil palavras, mas que poderia ser bem explicado em 800. Um texto claro, sem enrola??o é importantíssimo. Exemplos do que você escreve auxilia e muito a credibilidade, pois ajuda a explicar o que você quer falar.

The only way to provide immense value to your readers is if you honestly desire to do such thing. People sense "clickbaity" content, and they won't waste time with mediocre writing. Now, armed with good intentions, find out what questions you need to answer, related the main topic of your post. I like writing on paper, you сan do it on your phone, computer, create mind maps, ask ChatGPT... Once you get your list of questions, start answering as best as you can, like writing an essay in college, hoping to score max points on it. Include plenty of references. It can be as simple as a personal story, or it can be linking to other sources.

One way I like optimising content is simply asking myself few questions: - is any sentence hard to pronounce - am I using too many long words - any place where 3 long words are together should ideally be rephrased - can I use a different example to say the same thing, like internal A/B testing - is there any paragraph that needs to become a list - can I use a different metaphor somewhere - can I add an adjective somewhere... or an adverb, or a short phrase - to make the writing more accurate And many more, but of course, I don't do go into all the questions and details thoroughly with each post.

In conclusion Simplicity wins, humans love Simplicity. While writing content "SIMPLICITY" should be the focus, jagrons are their to keep them engaging as they're important but the end goal is SIMPLICITY. (Keeping the bot and Human both in mind)

Avant de vous lancer dans l'écriture, vous pouvez dans un premier temps vous demander pour quelle audience vous écrivez ! C'est sur base de cette variable que vous pourrez choisir le ton à adopter, adapté à votre audience. Est-elle constituée de jeunes gens ? Est-elle constituée des érudits ? Dans un cas, comme dans l'autre, vous n'utiliserez pas le même langage. De peur de passer pour un incompris pourtant, ce n'est votre but quand vous vous mettez devant votre clavier.

Having a small summary or a legend of the major topics discussed will be helpful. This helps the reader - Know what is there in the content - Move ahead to the area they are looking for - Increases UX which encourages the user to get back to you as a source.

Make it easy to navigate through long pieces of content via a contextual table of contents. Bonus points if you can keep that table floating as the reader scrolls up & down. It provides an anchor for the eyes & a mental map of concepts & progression. The reader knows where they've been & what's left to discover. That's important to provide this aid, otherwise your reader might feel lost & lose patience to go through it all.

- Conteúdo deve ser escaneável (frases e parágrafos curtos; - Seguir a arquitetura das informa??es (H1, H2, H3 etc); - Utilizar listas numéricas e bullet points; - Destacar informa??es importantes em negrito; - Usar a palavra-chave primária e kws secundárias (e sin?nimos) ao longo do texto; - Usar dados e estatísticas de fontes confiáveis - Link building interno e externo; - Utilizar imagens, tabelas e gráficos para "quebrar o texto" e deixar o design mais leve