Web vs. Print Writing
Learn to write concisely for both means of technical communication.
May 11, 2009
More and more, people are using the internet to figure out how to do things; this doesn't mean that print writing is going out of style, it just means that technical writers need to familiarize themselves with ways to write the best content they can in both web publications and print publications. Writing for the web is moderately different than writing for print—it involves different formatting and different ways to call attention to certain items in the content. However, both means are valuable to the technical writer and writers should try and pay attention to the best ways to relay information using both forms.
Writing for the Web
Writing for the web could mean writing for an online newsletter, writing for a blog, or even writing for a web site. Most users reading instructions via the internet are going to be using computer, though it is possible they also are using handheld devices. Because most users are going to be using a computer, writers need to think about how the user is going to read the instructions on the screen. When a user is looking for information on the web, they most likely do not want to see a large block of text—break up paragraphs into shorter chunks!
Lengthy introductions are not needed in web writing, just get to the point. According to studies completed by Dr Jakob Nielsen, and Stanford University/Poynter Institute, “79% of users scan the page instead of reading word for word, focusing on headlines, summaries and captions.” How can web writers help users find what they need? A good way to assist users is to provide information in lists; this breaks up the information and users can see exactly what they need. Basically, break everything down as much as possible, into small, bite-sized pieces of information.
Writing for Print
Writing for print allows for much more content as readers are going to actually read the information instead of scan the pages. When writing for print, long paragraphs are allowed and it is not necessary to put all ideas into lists, although lists are still helpful in print writing.
Print writing can allow for longer explanations of processes because the readers will be more engaged than if they were looking for quick instructions via the web. Writing manuals on the web can be done, but writer must be extremely concise in their language to avoid confusion; this is especially so due to the reader’s likeliness to overlook information and simply scan the articles.
Choosing to Use the Web or Print
When writing technical instructions, think about how the user will read over the instructions and apply them to their situation. Remember that users scan over information on the web and are more likely to read thoroughly in print.
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