Effective writing for websites

The most important information you find on any website is still presented in writing. Although the value in websites also lies in their ability to present information in a variety of forms – video clips, pictures, images, audio clips – the Internet is still predominantly based on writing.

When people search for information they search by keyword, and when search engines catalog your website, they rank it according to keyword. Therefore, if you want to have a successful website, you must focus your writing around keywords. There are more differences than just that between website writing and traditional writing including layout, order of information, and word choice.

Ezines

An ezine is a magazine or newsletter delivered by email. Because there are no costs for printing or postage, ezines are a popular way for businesses and charities to stay in touch with customers and members. Ezines are also a great way for new writers to get published. Because ezine editors are always looking for content, and new writers are often looking for ways to get exposure, there is an obvious opportunity for the two to work together.

Blogs

A blog, short for weblog, is an online journal or web diary. They became popular with people who had opinions on things, and wanted to express them. Bloggers are often critics or editorialists (professional or hobbyist), who want to make their opinions known.

Many starting and established writers blog to practice writing and to find an audience. A lot of companies now include blogs in their public relations strategies, or just to keep their customers up-to-date with what's going on in terms of product development.

Blogs can include anything from articles, editorials, and reviews, to links, multimedia, and more. New blogging software is incredibly user friendly, and often free, so just about anyone can become a blogger.

Polls

A poll is a great way to add a bit of interactivity to your website. A poll is an online survey that you can use to collect the opinions of visitors to your site.

Online polls can be serious or fun. You can poll your customers to see what they like about your products, and what you should change to improve your business. You can also set up weekly "What's your opinion?" polls to find out what your website visitors think about movies, politics, sports, or whatever would be of interest. Online polls are a way to make your site "stickier" -- to get visitors to return to see what were the results of the last survey.

Web Hosting

A Web host is a company who stores your website on a server (a computer set up for the purpose) so it can be viewed on the Web. It's a necessary part of having a website.