SalesCopyBlog.com

3 Proven Punctuation Techniques for Website Copywriters

Written by copydude on June 17th, 2009

The purpose of grammar and punctuation is to facilitate communication. This is as true on the web as it is for the printed page. However, it’s harder to read from computer screens than printed material. So website copywriters should modify their punctuation to increase readability.

These three tips will help make sure online readers understand the meaning of your website copy:

1. Use Punctuation Sparingly: Punctuation marks help organise ideas and control the flow of sentences. But they easily get lost on-screen because they’re small.

I recommend using punctuation sparingly online. Website copywriters need to maintain readability while they communicate their message. Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Arrange information into lists whenever possible.

2. Lose the Semi Colons: Don’t use semi colons when writing website content. They’re too easily mistaken for colons. (And most people don?t understand them anyway.)

According to the popular writing style guide, Elements of Style by Strunk & White, the proper use of a semi colon is to join two independent clauses into a compound sentence. For example: “It’s nearly midnight; the restaurants will probably be closed.”

On the web you’re better off using a period (full stop) or an em-dash (long hyphen). For example: “It’s nearly midnight. The restaurants will probably be closed.” or “It’s nearly midnight ? the restaurants will probably be closed.”

It’s also better to use em-dashes instead of hyphens in website copy. Because hyphens are small they can more easily be overlooked than the longer em-dash.

3. Check Your Copy Offline: To make the best impression on your website visitors, your website copy must be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Typos and poor English can easily turn customers away.

So always do a spell check of your website copy in a word processor before you upload it. It’s also a good idea to print it out and get a colleague to proof read it as well. Once the content is live, you should check it again on-screen.

Charles Cuninghame is an Australian web copywriter. He provides high quality copywriting services for business owners and marketing managers.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/3-proven-punctuation-techniques-for-website-copywriters-955069.html