Writing for the Web vs Print: Think of the User

Reading these articles made me have flashbacks to working for the American Dental Assn and going through the major redesign process back in 2002ish (nightmare -- so many departments to accommodate) and then flashback even farther to 1999 and working as an assitant editor for the American Med Assn Web site (we were still trying to figure out what this Internet business was all about -- but they had a site).

I think Gregory's statement about the writer should "be guided by their audience's needs and their communicative purpose" is a good rule to follow. I used to hear constantly at one place -- design the page so the main content is "above the fold" of the screen then people will be more inclined to read, ie, write fewer words, be more concise. Also, put the info in manageable chunks -- white space is good, no lengthy paragraphs like in print medium.

But, ultimately, it all depends on the users and in corporate context depending on company and purpose. For consumers, yes, writing shorter passages might be best -- keeps the reader focused and doesn't overwhelm them with too much info on a page. Yet, if you go to a medical journal Web site to access a peer-reviewed journal, the expectation of the reader (primarily healthcare providers) is to read a lengthy text with possibly long paragraphs online and scroll down (still you do try to break the paragraphs up some even the hated 1 sentence paragraph was promoted). Sure, sites have designed in various ways to make navigation more accommodating, but it depends on the needs of the user. The writing for Web then depends on the purpose and users -- same as in print.

When I sat behind a 2-way mirror at a focus group to watch users try to navigate through a site, following various tasks, it once again became clear that writing for the Web and writing in print has a similar goal -- consider the audience and the purpose.

The medium does need to be considered but in respect to writing, many of the same rules do apply.