7 reasons why “less is more” when writing for the web

Why brevity is key

You’ve got something to say that your readers want to hear. Don’t bury your message in lengthy, unstructured text when all your readers want is to get things done. Here are seven reasons why brevity is the key to good web writing.

1. People read slower onscreen

It’s well-documented that people read about 25% slower on their computer screens than on paper. In fact, research shows people can feel overwhelmed when reading too much text online. Always aim to write 50% less text than what you had planned. It helps reading speed and reduces cognitive load.

2. People scan more, read less

Most readers scan online content. Recent studies have proven that web page users read on average only about 20% of the words during an average page visit. Users look for keywords, short sentences and concise paragraphs of interest — which are hard to find if the content is too dense.

3. People have short attention spans

Five seconds. That’s all you have to capture your audience’s attention according to recent research. More than that and you risk losing your reader’s interest in your content. They simply couldn’t find what they wanted fast enough. The more words you load onto a page, the greater the effort to zero in on the desired information, which readers find frustrating.

4. People love a good title or section heading

When well-written, a concise title or section heading can give order to your pages and help guide visitors to the info they’re looking for. They also help break up the text into easy-to-read blocks and provide clear information scent as to where you’re leading the reader. Often your audience can infer more from a clear section heading than from a wordy, rambling paragraph.

5. People often browse on their mobile devices

Mobile devices are handy and almost everyone has and uses one. That means whatever message you put on a desktop web page must also fit on a mobile device, such as a tablet or phone — and why being concise with your words is essential. Long sentences on mobile devices are difficult to read and bore people after only a few seconds.

6. People find hypertext links handy

Great links are another way to help web readers scan pages. They stand out from “normal” text” and provide cues as to what the page is about. Well-placed links, like a good title or heading, tell your reader more about where you’re taking them (i.e., information scent) than a bloated explanation can.

7. People don’t like to scroll

Searching a web page for info is like going on a treasure hunt. The deeper you must dig the less likely you’ll want to continue. People get frustrated if they have to scroll too much, a fact supported by research: content above the fold gets 57% of your readers’ viewing time. The second screen of content below the fold receives roughly 17% of their viewing time. While their remaining attention gets spread among the content that appears low on the page. The closer key information is to the top of the page, the more likely it’ll be read.

Finding the balance between “more” and “less”

Not every web content author is a good writer by nature. With practice and by keeping these seven points in mind, virtually anyone can learn how to create strong titles, headings, links, sentences, paragraphs and more to help keep your readers engaged and informed.