Writing in the web- The writer's concern
As writing in the web is a different medium ,there are several aspects that we have to be aware of when writing for the web audience .
Short text
I mentioned earlier about the speed of reading on the screen being 25% slower than reading from the paper .
The implications of the slower speed of reading means that it is crucial to keep our text and scroll short, to cater to the audience's preference.
Realization of Hyperlinks
As reading on the web is rather strenuous to the eyes, on-line readers tend to skim the text rather than reading it in great detail. As a web writer, we must be aware of this fact and cater to their expectations in this aspect.
We can make use of headlines to structured the articles, as well as using a different colour to highlight key points.
Making text short would often tend to sacrifice the depth of content of the subject. This can be minimized by splitting up information into multiple nodes connected by hyperlinks. In this way, audience can still have access to information, by following the links that they have interest in.
The electronic text is less formal, as well as less subjected to multiple editing and peer review. The implications of this is immense.
First, the writer must not compromise his standard of writing ,due to the lack of editing and review by external source. Instead , he must be able to work more independently.
The writer must now take on other responsibilities, such as the structure they want their text to appear in, and the group of intended audience they want to target.
The need to edit on the web independently, also has it advantages. The writer will be able to constantly update his article, without the hassle of having to source for publishing house.
When the readers read on the web, demands for multimedia possibilities is very high. As reading on the web tends to be a more uncomfortable, readers would not just want plain text. If, that is the case, most reader will rather read a printed book.
Thus, when writers write on the web, they will also need to tap into the internet's capacities and incorporate photos, animated images, sound or even video to attract a pool of audience. When a text is enhanced with multimedia, it does giving a all new experience, that can never be realized through printed text.
Although this is an opportunity to enhance one's text, a writer should be able to maintain a good balance between his writing and incorporation of multimedia .The latter must only serve as a tool ,and not override the importance of the overall content of the text.
Technical aspects
A writer may not be a computer expert, but he must be aware of the fact that there is a vast difference in the way his text appear on the screen of every individual reader. This is due to the fact that each reader may be using different browsers, such as Netscape or Internet explorer, or even the way they set the resolution of their screen.
Other aspect of the technical aspects include the speed of their computers as well as its connection.
Thus, the writer must preview their work in different browser and find the best way to allow readers with different browsers to view their work with minimal changes.
At the same time, when they put in multimedia, they must take into consideration the loading time, to cater to readers with different connection speeds.
Similarities between text in print and text in web
Differences between text in print and text in web