I'm always trying to learn new things and improve the way I build my sites. This is a list of things I feel is very important for web developers. If you think something I've written is incorrect or outdated (already!) please let me know so it can be corrected. :-)
So... you want to write for the web, but you're just not sure if what you've written is what people will want to read, eh? Well, these 6 easy tips will help your venture into the great beyond.
Choose to write about something people will want to read
This is the single most important factor when you write a new page. Even if you think you're only writing for yourself. If you want to read it, there's probably plenty of other people who do too. Remember: You're not writing for a search engine! You don't necessarily have to choose to write about something niche either. As long as what you write about is accurate, readable and useful people will still want to read it.
Use headings correctly
Your first title should be a header 1, sub titles should be header 2, sub sub titles should be header 3 and so on. Use them logically and only where they are needed. Search engines give slightly more weight to the top level headers than they do lower ones, and this is especially useful if your page titles include useful keyphrases.
Do not fill your content full of keywords and phrases
Search engines may mark a page as spam if it contains too many of the same set of keywords. Write your text naturally. Don't think too hard about what you're writing, but do make sure to avoid using words too often. I, for example have a tendency to use "the" & "and" far too often which doesn't help me much when my pages are indexed. You should be mindful of this when writing your pages.
Use few, and relevant external links
If you are writing about a popular topic, such as the one you're reading now, external links can be very useful. Using too many makes your page look like a link farm. Link farms are bad if they serve no real purpose. Two or three well chosen external links which are both relevant, useful and credible can help.
Don't waffle
People don't want to be bored. In fact, people don't usually read properly on the web at all. That's not to say people are thick, they just prefer to scan things instead. If it's an informative article or blog entry, keep it concise. If it's a story or something a bit more long winded, make sure it's either broken down into easy-to-digest sections, or to kep individual page size down, paginate it.
Keep adverts out of the way
I've noticed an increasing trend in adverts appearing in the middle of a column of text. Right there in the center of an article. That really pisses me off. I understand that people need to make money - but if someone as poor as me can afford to run a site advert free (or at least as advert free as possible), then so can just about anybody else. If you do need to show adverts - move them to the top, bottom or side of the article instead. I find adverts in the middle of an block of text just put me off reading the rest of it.