Webpages are everywhere. They are blog posts (like this one) they are landing pages for corporate websites or squeeze pages for sales funnel. Webpages are about cats, weddings, sports, hobbies or business. A webpage is a single location on the internet and can show up for you in hundreds of different way. If you have something you want to offer an audience, a webpage is a great way to offer it... and I'm going to tell you how to design a webpage in three easy steps.
Step One: Solve a Problem.
The best web pages start by identifying a specific problem and offer a solution. In this case, I'm helping you (as the reader) build an awesome webpage, but other examples could be:
- Helping you enjoy a wedding or family vacation
- Helping you understand your dog's behavior
- Helping you learn algebra
- Helping you pass your SAT's
- Helping you self diagnose a freckle
- Helping you learn the latest legal rulings from the supreme court
Identify the problem by asking yourself, "Why am I writing?"
An amazing website has a clear purpose. Your website should solve a problem for your reader. It's not just enough to provide information, you must explain why your information is important to your reader. Sound too easy? Well, there is a catch. You need to build the trust of your reader by writing in an ethical way.
According to "A Concise Guide to Technical Communications" written by Heather & Rogers Graves, ethics is about how you want to "frame" your topics. In this article I've lured you in with my promise to help you to build an amazing website. Now, I have an ethical responsibility to deliver on that promise.
Depending on your webpage topic, you may have varied ethical requirements, especially if your webpage is offering legal or medical advice.
Graves & Graves explains that vague language and euphemisms designed to understate risk have led to "plain language" initiatives as a way to solve the problem of intentionally unclear language.
Your webpage should easily spell out the problem you are solving in a clear and truthful manner.
Step Two: Know your audience.
The internet is a big place. Some reports say there are over 5 billion people online. The great news is that you aren't writing for all 5 billion people. You are writing for a much smaller piece of the internet pie.
Your audience is specific. If you are thinking right now, that your audience isn't... I invite you to revision who is sitting in front of their computer right now vising your webpage. Think about who would have typed in just the right search words to connect with your topic.
Now, whittle that audience down a little more by giving them a age bracket, geographic location, primary language, biological sex, income level, marital status, hobbies.... When you can picture the individual reading your webpage, you've got it! You have your audience. That is the person you are writing for, that is the person you are here to help.
Ask yourself, "Who am I writing to?"
And, Believe it or not, your webpage has a genre. Just like your favorite book, your webpage has a genre. The books you loved and the books you could live without, they clearly have a genre. When you read action and adventure, you expect: Action/Adventure. The genre of your webpage needs to fulfil the expectations of your audience.
If you are writing about a business topic, you will be speaking to an audience that expects business language. If you are writing for scientists they will expect their industry jargon.
This is very important because words mean different things in different context, so make sure to appreciate the expectations of your audience in everything that you write on your webpage.
Step Three: White Space & Design.
According to Elementor (read more about it here) ""Whitespace (also known as negative space) is the empty space around the content and elements on a web page.It’s used to balance the page’s design, organize the content and elements, and improve the visual experience for the user."
The eye tracking studies that I could find were over 10 years old. In the 2010 study published on Usability.gov there are some interesting results. First, most readers don't read a full page of text, but rather read in an "F" pattern.
Secondly, there is a different pattern of reading for users "searching" for something rather than browsing. The study goes on to explain that most users "don't see" banner ads and fancy fonts and colors do not always stand out.
Additional Steps to Consider
You know by now (at the end of the blogpost) that the three easy steps to create an awesome webpage are describe what and how you should write. Because you are writing a webpage, there will be other aspects you will want to consider to get your page "found" on by your audience. Such as:
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): this includes keywords and phrases but in your page and on the back order of your website)
Backlinks: placing links to your webpage on other pages and websites
Sharing: Social media sharing is always evolving and always a great idea of get your webpage in front of your audience.
