Web Word Wizardry A Net-Savvy Writing Guide

The pen may surrender to the mouse, but content is still king! - gain more hits, more responses, and more profit with this guide to Web Word Wizardry - Learn to make your web site readable, credible, and profitable with this straightforward, authoritative guide to writing and content organization - Great for either high-traffic corporate sites, or personal home pages - Written for beginners and Web experts alike - A superbly written, easy-to-follow essential guide to making your Web Work ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Though the pen may have surrendered its mightiness to the mouse, clear, concise writing has never been more at a premium, both online and in print. Shocked by the lack of attention given to writing in the ever-growing number of books related to Web site design, author Rachel McAlpine decided to right the balance with Web Word Wizardry. When carefully edited and strategically placed, words will guarantee your web site is noticed - and visited - time and time again

"Good Web writing needs to be like soda pop or champagne," says Rachel McAlpine in Web Word Wizardry: "crystal clear and fizzy." But engaging prose isn't enough. Web writing needs to be straightforward ("the enigmatic, provocative, cryptic, poetic, ironic, or witty heading is wasted on the Web," she confides) but not bland. To instill trust in the reader, it must be both personal and professional. McAlpine, a trainer and consultant in online content, addresses everything here from alt-text and source code to doorway pages and link popularity. She discusses the differences between writing for the Web and writing for intranets (private Internet systems used by large organizations). She warns against long domain names, italics, and flags as language indicators. And she devotes a considerable amount of space to the fine art of customizing pages of your Web site for specific search engines. After all, who cares how brilliant your site is, if no one can find it? --Jane Steinberg