Good Usability » Is it web writing or just good writing?

Is it web writing or just good writing?

Posted October 6th, 2008 by David Hamill

I was having a conversation with a friend today about writing for the web. I’d given him a bit of advice in the past about how to write good web content. I must have done something right because that advice stuck with him. Four years later he is still following it. He’s also using the principles I taught him in everything he writes. I think this is great. More of us should be doing the same.

Why do people write so funny?

Many business documents are badly written. I’m not talking about badly placed apostrophes or the odd typo. I’m talking about the kind of language that is used in them. The worst culprits are official documents like tender briefs or the terms of reference for a project. They use a deliberately complex method of forming sentences and often use words that involved the use of a thesaurus.

Writing in this manner is supposed to add credibility to the document. But it doesn’t. Writing like this makes you sound stupid. Like someone trying to sound clever rather than someone who actually knows what they are talking about. You may think that the only harm you’re doing is to your office cred, but you’re wrong. Bad writing is a drain on business efficiency. Here’s an example of what I mean.

“The principal aim of the project is to create efficiencies via the identification and rationalisation of process flows in order to further increase the company’s competitive advantage.”

In plain English this could be:

“The aim of the project is to cut costs by improving processes.”

How did it start?

So why did we all start writing like this? My theory is that it starts in school. If I handed this article into an English teacher I’d be lucky to get a C for it. Why? Because (apart from all the typos) I’m trying to write simple sentences and I’m not using big words unnecessarily. This is because I want you to understand what I write. I’m not trying to pass an exam or impress you with my use of structure. But this is not the way we’re taught to write.

Then there are word limits. If you’re anything like I was at school, word limits on essays did not mean cutting text out. No, they meant adding words in and using 4 words when 1 would do.

These habits are hard to break.

So what harm’s it doing?

Waste of the author’s time. In business, time means money (I can’t believe I just wrote that.). If you waste time then you’re wasting money. So spending hours writing things that could be written in a few minutes is helping nobody.

Waste of the reader’s time. Verbose documents are difficult to read. If the document you just spent hours writing is difficult to read then you’re wasting everyone’s time. And the organisation is picking up the bill.

Loss of sales. Customers will quickly stop reading text that is onerous to read. If this text is on printed sales materials then you can say goodbye to that sale. If it is on your website, the customer is likely to have a bad experience. This is worse than just losing that one sale. Bad experiences effect the way customers feel about the organisation. So they may leave and never come back.

A risk to the company. Bad writing also represents a business risk. Documents that tell your employees how to perform their role need to be very clear. If not, employees can end up doing things that cause financial loss. One example of this I witnessed led to a company’s employees unwittingly breaking the law.

Lessons from web writing

Some of the principles of web writing are specific to websites. But many are just principles of good writing in general. These include:

Get straight to the point and follow up with exceptions.
Use short and simple words and sentences.
Use headers and sub-headers to allow the reader to read the bits they are interested in.
Keep paragraphs short.
Use bold text to emphasise your key points.
Use mostly active sentences.

There are probably a good few more but I can’t think of them just now.

11 Responses to “Is it web writing or just good writing?”

Pete Tevonian says:
October 9th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I agree with pretty much everything you say here. It should be noted that in this case, I believe you’re talking about “business writing”, as opposed to marketing, advertising, etc.

At times, a little bit of ramble, and a few “unnecessary” words can help establish a certain “tone” to the message being delivered. Just as you would not likely blurt out “You’re fired” to a valued employee who has been laid-off, you may also want to soften the blow of certain messages in your writing.

There are many layers to what writing can convey — factual information, empathy, attitude, etc. Brevity and clarity are keys to the delivery of factual information. But all brevity and no ingenuity can make Jack a dull boy.
David Hamill says:
October 20th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Hi Pete,

Yes I’m talking about business writing. I agree entirely with your point.
Destry Wion says:
March 6th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Excellent points, David. We (should) know these and still remember to check ourselves continuously. It does take attention, and practice.

Indeed, “Letting Go of the Words” is excellent.
Andrew Merryweather says:
March 6th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Couldn’t agree more, I try to adhere to the principles of clarity and brevity when I write (with occasional concessions to context, as per Pete T’s comment above).

The one point I’d quibble with is ‘waste of the author’s time’. If it takes me an hour to say something in 1000 words, it’ll take me two hours to say it in a concise 500. Verbose is easy, concise takes work.
David Hamill says:
March 6th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I take your point Andrew. I guess I mean that by aiming for clarity at the start will help you focus. But at the same time you should be revisiting your text in order to strip bits out and simplify it. So this takes time. As Blaise Pascal said, “I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had time to make it shorter.” (yes, I though it was Mark Twain too)
Helen Baker says:
March 6th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Good points Dave. Now if only the people who wrote as you’ve just explained would develop an interest in writing well and read this too…!

I work for a number of engineering companies and have had lots of ‘fun’ revising web copy written by people who know the business but who aren’t writers – which is where I think half the problem lies.

They write as they think a ‘writer’ would do. Many managers also see an opportunity to promote their service or division and get carried away.

Despite this, I think many don’t see the value in good writing (believing it’s quantity over quality) and are unlikely to accept training to learn how to do it better.

Helen
Sue Keogh says:
July 27th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Really good article, well written to boot! Sue
Enon says:
July 27th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
There is not a way in which I could stress enough my agreement with your position and statements regarding the issues pertaining to the composition of bloated sentences in all legal, business and general manners. It is my opinion as well that such practices stem from the forceful nature in the educational process that requires and encourages pupils to distend the written word and refer, on a constant and regular basis, to corrupting writing aids such as a thesaurus.
David Hamill says:
July 27th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
That made me chuckle. Thanks for that :0)
Enon says:
July 27th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
No problem.

I guess comedy is one good outcome of extraneously worded sentences.
Doug Thompson says:
January 18th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Late commenting but just wanted to say I enjoyed the article. Check out Mark Twain’s savagely funny essay, “Cooper’s Prose Style.” He takes a few paragraphs of Cooper’s, larded with all sort of verbiage, about Deerslayer having killed a deer and brought it back to camp. Twain says that Cooper’s prose is “unsuited to the transportation of raw meat.” The essay contains 14 (or some number) of rules for good writing one which is “eschew surplusage.”