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3 Proven Punctuation Techniques for Website Copywriters

Monday, April 13th, 2009
by Charles F-Cuninghame

Copywriters need to modify their punctuation (slightly) for an online audience. That’s because computer screens are harder to read than printed pages (due to their lower resolution and flicker).

Use these three tips to make sure readers understand the meaning of your online content:

1. Use Punctuation Sparingly: Punctuation marks help organise ideas and control the flow of sentences. But they easily get lost on-screen because they’re small.

That’s the reason why you should use punctuation sparingly online. Some tricks include using short sentences and short paragraphs. Arrange information into lists if possible. Ask yourself, “Can I get away without this punctuation?”

2. Don’t Use Semi Colons: I avoid using semi colons when writing online. They’re too easily mistaken for colons.

According to the popular writing style guide, Elements of Style by Strunk & White, the proper use of a semi colon is to join two independent clauses into a compound sentence. For example: “It’s nearly midnight; the restaurants will probably be closed.”

On the web you’re better off using an em-dash (long hyphen) or a period (full stop). E.g. “It’s nearly midnight ? the restaurants will probably be closed.” or “It’s nearly midnight. The restaurants will probably be closed.”

Also, it’s better to use em-dashes instead of hyphens in website copy. Hyphens are small. So they can more easily be overlooked than longer em-dashes.

3. Check Your Copy Offline: To make the best impression on your website visitors, your website copy must be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Typos and poor English can easily turn customers away.

So always do a spell check of your website copy in a word processor before you upload it. It’s also a good idea to print it out and get a colleague to proof read it as well. Once the content is live, you should check it again on-screen.

About the Author:
With a career spanning more than 12 years, Charles Cuninghame is one of Australia’s most experienced website copywriters.

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