No final drafts on your web

"He carries a notebook around with him everywhere Dad!"

My young son had arrived home from his school Literature Festival. Popular children's author Andy Griffiths had held his attention with stories about how he wrote best seller The Day My Bum Went Psycho. Yes, that really is the title ... but it makes sense when your audience is mostly pre-teenage boys.

My son had just discovered the second rule of writing. Get your ideas down. In a notebook, on an envelope, napkin, phone, computer or talk them into a digital recorder ... but get them down.

The first rule of course is to think and have ideas in the first place.

As students we are taught that we should take our ideas, write a rough draft, then finesse that into a final draft. Often there will be additional drafts in between depending on how important the writing assignment is.

In the grown up world, it's not that different. We add the editing process to the end when someone else proofs our writing to make sure it's free from errors and ready to be printed.

It's little wonder that we don't change our process when writing web pages. We make notes of our content ideas, write a draft or two and then a final draft. Then it gets proofed, approved and then uploaded ... it's live.

And then it sits there unchanged, like an Easter Island statue.

But the web is ever changing. Online is a very dynamic environment.

  • Information becomes old or out of date.
  • New pages will be linked to your page.
  • You may even find better ways to say what you first penned.
  • New information becomes available.

Your website is dynamic, always changing.

There is never a final draft ... ever.

So, what to do?

Always review your pages from time to time. Don't just look at them. Re-read them and follow the links. Check the changing relationships between pages. You will almost always find a way to make improvements, updates, a change in emphasis, and apply new knowledge you have gained since writing.

Then there is search engine optimisation (SEO) ...

Using appropriate keywords in your writing is one of the major factors in how search engines - like Google - index and deliver your web content.

  • Is the keyword or phrase you first used now a little out of date?
  • Is there a new buzzword that will enhance your 'searchability'?
  • Are new or better phrases becoming more relevant to your audience?

And don't confine your editing to the body copy. Headlines and subheads are arguably even more important ... for humans as well as search engines.

So, raise your hand and let your managers know that your website content needs checking and updating. Put a review system in place. If you don't already have one, start with an annual check up.

Remember, websites can quickly become dated. While there may be a final draft when you write for print or other offline media, there is no final draft online.

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