Career:
Multimedia Specialist
Table of Contents
 
English/Communication
Readin' and Writin' on the Web

Multimedia specialists know that writing for a web page or other multimedia production is different from writing for a textbook, newspaper, or other printed page. When people view a web page, they want to know immediately if the information is what they need. Information must be obvious and easy to read or the visitor will quickly click to another website.

Visitors to a website may spend only a few short seconds sampling the information on the page. They prefer to skim rather than read a large block of text. It's up to you to pick out the important information and present it in clear, direct text that is easy to scan.

Following is text for a web page that teaches multimedia specialists how to write for the web:

First, pick out the most important ideas and present them in bulleted lists. You can highlight keywords using bold or colored print. Cut down the number of words you use. Use only one idea per paragraph or group of words. Readers will skip over additional ideas.

Here's an example of how a multimedia specialist might rewrite this information more clearly for a web page:

Tips for Writing a Web Page

Readers rarely read every word on a web page. Instead, they scan the page looking for the most important information. Here are some tips for writing a web page that will make it easy for visitors to use your website.

  • Use bulleted lists
  • Highlight keywords
  • Halve the word count
  • Use one idea per group of words
  • Use meaningful headings and subheadings