5 Tips To Support Reading Web Content

On a daily basis information is essential to the way we understand the world around us.

For many of us, how we choose to receive information, and the method by which people consume it; varies from person-to-person. Whether it’s regularly checking our favorite phone apps, scrolling specific websites, or engaging with people around us; we routinely feel the need to be connected.

As readers, or even curators of the web content we post, communicating thoughts and ideas in our articles, is most effective when simple design principles are applied.

That’s because viewers typically deciphering what information they chose to read and when. In other words, viewers typically make a decision in 54 seconds by glancing at the content they see. Therefore to keep a viewer’s attention longer it’s important to increase readability by doing a few simple paragraph formatting tasks. Use the visual guidelines below before posting on social media.

5 Tips To Engage Viewers With Your Web Content

To engage your audience and encourage them to read on, take a little extra time to implement these tried-and-true tips.

1. Add Subheads. Include subheads throughout your article. It breaks up long articles, and it’s good for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Subheads allow viewers to quickly skim web content for information they need to know and enjoy reading.
   
   
2. Include Photos. While most articles include photos, be sure to pick photos related to your content. If the article is short, one photo is Ok. If your article is longer think about including additional photos throughout the text. Choose photos with less background distractions and more emphasis on the main subject in your photo.
   
   
3. Add Paragraphs. Paragraphs are a design element too. Add spaces between paragraphs to separate thoughts. This makes it easier on the eyes to skim and read your content, breaking up long articles.
   
   
4. Add Graphic Elements. Add bullets, numbers, or graphic elements to the beginning of bulleted text or listed items. If using short thoughts as shown in this list, bold the beginning text. Graphics don’t need to be big. But such elements will add a bit of design flair to your list. You can also use design elements, like a drop cap at the very beginning of your article, callouts, or testimonial in the middle of your text—this also divides long paragraphs so it’s easier to read.
   
   
5. Use Color. You can also use color within your article by coloring a drop cap, callouts, testimonials, or adding a photo or line graphic to enhance the visual presentation of your article. Do this between paragraphs to visually add a colored element between long texts.

So there you have it. Five basic graphic design tips to add some variety to your web content. When these visual guidelines are intentionally applied to your articles, there’s a higher likelihood viewers will stay to read the editorials you’ve worked so hard to write.