SubSurfWiki:Training/Writing for online audiences

The web is not like print. In print, you construct a linear narrative for your readers. They expect you to, and they follow the author’s lead. They read almost every word, and expect full, well-crafted sentences. The purpose of the reading need not be clear all of the time— it can be educational, entertaining, or just pleasant enough to pass the time.

On the web, readers have different expectations. They create their own experience as they navigate non-linearly through your, and others’, content. They scan most pages in a few seconds, and even when they find something they like, they only stay for about 2 minutes and read fewer than 25% of the words on the page. In my own experience, you’re lucky to have someone visit more than 2 pages on your site. On the plus side, readers are more tolerant of things like sentence fragments. People want actionable content—don’t put words between them and your advice.

Keep more readers
If you want to try to keep more people interested, try these tips from Jakob Nielsen at Nielsen Norman Group:
 * Use headings often, and fill them with keywords
 * Break the content up with lists, tables, and information-rich graphics
 * Don’t waste space with stock images or other junk content
 * People love data—make numbers stand out by preferring numerals to words
 * Keep it short!

Sometimes, we can't do these things. That's okay, but then we have to think about ways to make the broken rule not matter. For example, if your content is long, can we break it into more pages? Can we use or adapt content already in the wiki? Can we make it easier to navigate?