Did you know that 1,440 WordPress posts come out each minute?
That’s a lot of content to read. But did you know that 50 percent of US adults can’t read a book at an eighth-grade level?
For many writers, that can be a hard level to write at. Especially if you work in a complicated field like high tech, removing jargon and difficult sentences can be a painful task.
But learning how to write website content for high-tech doesn’t have to be impossible. And if you’re looking to learn how, you’re in the right place.
After reading this article, you should be able to simplify your website content with ease.
Read on to learn more!
Break up Long Sentences
Can you shove three whole slices of pizza in your mouth?
If you answered yes, that’s impressive, but for the rest of us who aren’t the Hulk, the answer is no. Eating three whole pizzas in a bite is practically impossible.
But, easting three pieces of pizza with, say, 20 bites, seems pretty doable.
The same goes for reading. No matter what you’re writing about, shorter sentences can make it easier for a reader to digest what you’re saying.
Take the following sentence for example. Sophia, Alex’s sister, met Luke, the brother of Olivia, to go out for dinner as friends in Memphis, Tennessee, where the best BBQ restaurants are, to eat pasta and get to know each other.”
That’s a pretty hard sentence to read. Let’s make it easier:
Alex and Olivia’s siblings, Luke and Sophia, had dinner in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is known for great BBQ, but they ate pasta while getting to know each other.
Ah, much better. Giving the reader bite-size pieces to digest makes it much easier to read. Once they understand the first sentence, they can move on to the next with a strong base.
Dictionary
In high-tech, there are plenty of complicated terms that only experts understand. But to write website content, you have to be able to explain these terms.
That isn’t as hard as it might sound. In fact, it should be pretty easy if you create an online dictionary.
Think of all the terms people ask you about and then dedicate a page on your site to defining them. Then, when you use the term, you can just add a link back to the page.
If you design it well, you could even have the link go directly to that term. Potentially, you could make it possible to hover over the term to get the definition.
This will help your readers understand what’s going on, but it will also allow you to have a well-researched reference page. This will also boost your SEO.
Articles About Difficult Concepts
Similar to this, you could write articles about difficult concepts in high-tech. Some concepts take too long to define in a simple terms, but you could include links to those articles within other articles.
For example, if you’re discussing better data capture programs, you’ll want to make sure your readers know what data capture even is. Instead of spending 100-200 words writing about it, you could link to an article explaining what it is.
Again, this will boost the SEO of the page you’re linking to, which will help improve your rankings. This should also be part of your digital marketing goals.
Editing Software
Some editing software is made specifically for writing with readability in mind. You can pay for services like these, but many of them are free.
One really great one is the Hemmingway App Editor. Named after the easy-to-read Ernest Hemmingway, this app will tell you what sentences are hard to read. It will also tell you what phrases you could simplify and where you could remove passive voice and adverbs.
You’ll also be able to tell what grade level you’re writing about. Shoot for something below grade 9.
This software and ones like it are quite helpful, but don’t take them too far. Even the developers of the Hemmingway app suggest overriding the suggestions on occasion. Too many edits can actually make it harder to read!
Don’t Talk Down
Now that you know how to make content easier for people to read, let’s discuss some simple notes you should take when doing this.
Sometimes, when writing for people who don’t know your industry well, it can be tempting to begin talking down to them. Some people do this on purpose, but others do it by mistake, with good intentions.
Consider what your audience knows. Even though they aren’t experts like you, chances are they have some idea of what you’re doing. They wouldn’t be on your site otherwise!
Avoid talking down by leaving some more complex parts of your website content in the article. Make sure it can be understood, but let the reader know that you respect them.
You can learn more about this from iTech Data Services. They have plenty of understandable content that doesn’t talk down to the reader.
Ask Someone Else
Before you publish anything on your site, it can be a good practice to ask someone else to look over it first. Don’t ask someone who is an expert though; ask a friend or someone in a different department.
Don’t let them scan it and tell you it looks fine. Print it out, hand them a pen, and ask them to scan for any content that doesn’t make sense. Make sure they know it won’t hurt your feelings.
Even if you’ve done everything in a way they understand, this process will still help your writing style. They may even catch a few typos for you!
Ready to Transform Your Website Content?
After reading this article, you should know how to make your website content much easier to read. Remember that even though you work in a difficult field that it doesn’t mean people can’t understand what you’re saying.
Want to read more? Check out our website blogs to learn more.