People don’t read Web sites.

There, I said it.

Now don’t shoot me – at least not until I’ve said my piece.

The written word is obviously an important part of any Web site for, ultimately, it is the basis for one’s message. But since so much of the Web is visual, I do not think people actually read Web sites – that is, until a user finds the information they are looking for.

It’s a simple concept that can be difficult to implement.

Writing for the Web is different than writing for anything else. You have to be short, direct and concise. It you take 15 words to get across a message that can be told in five, people won’t stick around to read the wordier version. Nobody is going to read four sentences to find out where next to click, much less wade through a three-paragraph mission statement or company vision.

And as much as Web writing must be short, it also must be straightforward. A marketing brochure might be peppered with clever slogans and cutesy plays on words – a tone that probably reflects the company’s brand.

When writing for the Web, though, you must cut through the cuteness. Fancy taglines and slogan only get in the way – especially if it is written in a way to support the brand.

The priority is to facilitate the user experience, and allow the user to find his endgame – and buzz words and marketing lingo will only roadblock that direct path.

But Web copy isn’t only short – it is strategically short. For example, do not write, “For more information, click here” with the “click here” a link to the next page. Simply write “Read more” or “More information” and make those direct links. Don’t ever use “click here” on a site. Good copy leads to obvious links.

Advice I like to give is simple: After you write copy for a Web site, go through and cut half the words. Then go back and take out half the words, again. The end product should be just about right.

More advice: more copy is appropriate the deeper you get into a Web site. If a user goes to a Web site in search of ways to cure poison ivy, the reader will read several paragraphs once he makes three of four easy clicks to find the right information. But, that same user won’t read more than a few words in navigating towards the final destination.

Again, the object is to get the user from Point A to Point B – and Point B is the content, it is what the user wants to read.

The best opportunity to connect to directly connect with the visit is through visuals, not through copy.

 A home page is a Web site’s “Table of Contents” – and the writing should match.