In general, when people use the web, their reading habits are much different than when they read print based materials. They tend to spend little time on each “page,” and look for useful information or items that pique their interest. If they don’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll move on quickly.

What does this mean when we consider how to write text for web pages? Here are some general rules:

• Keep text short and get to the point quickly.
• Break the text into managable chunks.
• Use the active voice.
• Pay attention to how you format the text (use tables, for example, to organize information.
• Provide clues about where links you place in your text will lead the reader. Don’t merely provide a list of “useful or important links.”

Watch how people use the web sometime. Lurk over their shoulders. Give a friend a task to perform, such as finding information on sport utility vehicles. Watch how they go about this task, how much time they spend on each page, how they go about searching for information, etc. Keep this in mind when you begin to design your own pages.