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Writing for Skimmers By Robyn Greenspan December 27, 2000 There is such an abundance of information available online that it is impossible to fully read everything that comes across your screen. Consequently, Net surfers forego reading every word and do something called "skimming." In fact, you''re probably skimming this article right now to see if there is anything that would be useful to you. Well, if you own and operate an e-business and have a Web site, this is an article that should definitely be read by both eyes. When writing Web copy, try to compensate for readers with limited time and attention spans. Choose Your Words Carefully so that grammar and punctuation are used properly and create clear, concise site text that can captivate those with the shortest concentration limits. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when writing for your site: Don''t be too verbose. Keep paragraphs short by not straying from the point. Begin by typing up everything you want to say and then continue to re-read and eliminate words until only the very essence of the thought remains. Edit freely or have someone with good editing skills review your work. Intersperse bold words when you want to emphasize something or draw attention to a particular point. Remember that bold face type is only effective if it is used prudently. Keep text boxes to a minimum and don''t put them all over the place because it will force readers to jump all over the page. White space is often better than words. Text should appear near any corresponding graphics. This way, readers can quickly glimpse at an image and decide if they want to read the accompanying caption. Don''t make your visitor scroll and scroll and scroll to continue reading. Try to limit long text to just one screen at a time. Granted, when a reader is truly interested, every word will be absorbed but the majority of site visitors want to glean the necessary information and move on. Make Your Site Easy to Read takes a look at some of the important elements of creating your Web text.

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