• By michelle
• In Copywriting
• Posted Dec 21, 2012

Make it Snappy: Web Copy at a Glance

In the fast-paced world of online marketing, you have seconds to capture your new prospect’s interest before you lose them to a competitor. That’s why it’s so important that your web content be ready at a glance—and a passing one, at that.

If people are visiting your site, they’re there for a reason. As much care and love as we might put into crafting captivating copy, the honest truth is that most visitors won’t actually read it unless it’s easy to scan.

Don’t scare away your potential clients with clunky copy! Here’s the rundown for how you can make your web copy enticing and reader-friendly:

Create a visual hierarchy. As a rule, the most important information (such as calls to action) goes above the fold. Be sure to utilize web copy placement according to where you want your viewers to pay the most attention. Remember, online readers don’t scan left to right. Instead, people tend to scan in an “F” shaped pattern for reading web content. 

Make it easy on the eyes. Don’t tire reader’s eyes with small type, loud color combinations, or varied styles. As a rule, a dark background with light text is harder to read than dark text on a lighter background. Also, to ensure your web copy appears the same to your viewer as it does to you, select a font that most users will already have preinstalled on their browsers, such as Verdana, Arial, or Times.

Break it up.Use bullet points to highlight the most important parts of your message for your readers. These lists allow your clients to scan for the information they want, ensure that your page neat, and break complex ideas into their most manageable parts.

If a list interferes with the style of your website or blog, be sure to break up large chunks of copy with white space to give your readers the breath they need. Ideally, a online copy won’t exceed 3-4 sentences per paragraph.

Use headlines to createinterest. Did you know that four out of five people don’t read past a headline?Don’t be discouraged—the best headlines offer a teaser that entices readers to continue reading the copy below. Not to mention, this is a great way to organize your copy and give your website or blog a polished look.

Spend some time fine-tuning your headlines. Though your first order of business is to summarize content, you also want to capture the readers’ interest. Why not ask a question to be answered by the subsequent paragraph?

Aim for brevity. Don’t let your copy lose its momentum by rambling on. Keep it succinct so your readers can get the information they came to your site for without having to dig. Stick with predominately short sentences, and aim to vary the rhythms of your writing to keep the energy alive in your copy.

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