Written Content

The Importance of Content

Visitors generally return to a website for its content more than for its design. Studies conducted on Internet users show that the number one most valued part of a website is its written content. Thus, a very simple website with extremely interesting content would potentially be visited more often than a website that is weak on content but has well-crafted graphics.

Description of the Information

Every piece of content must be described, i.e. pieces of information must appear that allow visitors to get an idea of what the content is. The essential elements, among others, are:

• A clear title that appears in the browser's title bar
• The author's name
• The last modification date
• The page's copyrights and particularly the terms of distribution
• Possible sources of information

Editorial Style

The editorial style of a website should be adapted to the type of readers who are going to visit it. The website's editorial policy is the policy used when writing articles. A well-defined editorial policy helps to guarantee a cohesiveness between articles as well as a certain kind of content harmony throughout the website.

In most cases, given the diverse nature of a website's readership, businesses and organisations are advised to adopt an editorial style close to that of a journalist, i.e. particularly following these rules:

• Do not use the first person singular ("I")
• Avoid the impersonal pronoun "one"
• Use a neutral tone

The language used must be the closest to that of the reader without being informal. Thus, preferentially the content should be made up of simple, clear, precise and concise sentences.

Calibration

Calibration refers to determining the length of an article. Studies have shown that people read text on screen 25% more slowly than text on paper. Considering the difficulty reading on screen, it is highly recommended to write concise articles.