4 Rules For Internet Content Format

Too many people who blog or write content for the Internet don’t realize that there’s a unique way to format their text for web reading.

If you think your content is so wonderful that people will read it regardless of the way it’s presented online, you are absolutely wrong. Why your wonderful article won’t be read is because of what I call…

The Glazed Eye Syndrome

You know what that means. Your eyes glaze over when presented with something too complicated, confusing, or boring in any way.

Well, that happens with reading online. When confronted with a blog post that’s nothing but a giant block of text, your eyes simply can’t take it in.

The visual signal goes to the brain, and the brain says, “Screw this.” And you move on to something easier to read.

This is similar to what happens in real life when you experience massive sensory overload. You back away.

On the Internet, you do the same by hitting the back button or closing the tab and moving on to something that’s easier on the eyes and thus easier to take in.

Why This Happens

The human eye gets easily tired by reading from a computer. In actuality, we don’t read content online so much as we scan content, looking for the nuggets of solid information. We’re looking for something specific when we pause to read a blog.

We don’t want to wade through hundreds–or worse, thousands–of words to get what we came for.

How To Direct Readers

1. Avoid huge blocks of text.

2. Use sub-headings in bold to break up blocks of text and to point the way to the information readers came for.

3. Use photographs or other graphic images to also break up the text, to emphasize points being made, and to create visual interest.

4. Give succinct information. Don’t bury the message. Make sure it is clearly presented.

NOVEMBER GIVEAWAY ~ Today’s question: Did you know content for the Internet should be formatted differently than content for print?

Answer the question in Comments to be entered in the November Giveaway.

See details at the top of the left sidebar.

Takeaway Truth

You write to be read so avoid shooting yourself in the metaphorical foot, or you risk losing readers.