Content writing is one essential element in a website's success. It is an imperative to understand that a site's success is not only measured through its page rank or search engine rankings. Another key factor that must not be taken for granted is the web readership.

Content writing needs to consider significant facts about web readers. Writing copies for websites entails a sophisticated understanding of the complex online readers' behavior. Here are some facts on web readers that copywriters need not to overlook in writing web contents.

1. Web readers perceive reading on the web as too much work.
People read approximately 25% slower on the web than on print materials. It is because reading from computer screens can be tiring for the eyes. In line with this, web contents have to be 50 percent shorter than print copies. Content writing calls for no less than concise texts.

2. Readers only scan web texts
Usability guru Jacob Nielson deems that 79% of the readers on the web tend to scan rather than read word per word the entire article. In content writing, it is beneficial if the copy is written in shorter words, sentences and paragraphs. Using bulleted lists and highlighting keywords and key phrases also help in giving readers a gist of the entire article.

3. Web readers are impatient
With the easy and uncomplicated internet technology comes web readers who are always in a hurry to get the information they want. Majority of the online readers don't have the patience for complex and vague texts. Readers don't find it enjoyable to scroll through bulks of text. Since there are millions of other websites, they can just quickly move on to another site if they find the content unentertaining and lengthy.

Grabbing readers' attention and retaining their interest is a big challenge in content writing considering the following: roughly 10 seconds to attract reader's attention with quality website content and not more than 50 seconds to develop the reader's understanding on the site's product or services. To efficiently write enticing contents, the inverted pyramid style is the most ideal to employ. Content writing must first state clearly the most important point or the main idea of the entire article.

Also, to combat reader fatigue, it is always best to use simple words. Too technical and complex words can annoy readers. It is easier for web users to get the relevant information if the language is written in a logical and straightforward manner.

4. Majority of web readers are skeptical
Content writing is not about creating copies that are phony just for the sake of attracting people to read. Credibility is the biggest factor in retaining readers' interest on the web.

The use of objective language is the main tool in hooking readers' eyes. Create meaningful headlines and catchy subheads, avoid marketing pitch or promotional jargons, and never write exaggerated claims. Web readers can detect whether or not what they are reading is based on mere facts.

5. Readers do not want information overload
People tend to suffer from information overload because of the modern working pace nowadays. Readers usually have tons of emails in their inbox to deal with, and bulk of documents to read. Spending more time and effort in reading web contents is definitely not on their checklist. That's why content writing for the web must provide its readers bite-size chunks of information which are easy to digest. The one idea per paragraph principle is an efficient way to write digestible texts. Less is definitely more - short sentences and short paragraphs make reading trouble-free.

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