Express Yourself: How is writing for the web different from other styles of writing?

Writing for the web is quite different from writing for other mediums and audiences, but in what ways is it different? According to Yahoo! Style Guide, "start strong, stay strong" is one of the key things for quality writing for the web, among many other things:

Proofreading
This in an incredibly important step because doing so makes the page appear more professional and therefore more reliable. Simply put, an error-free body of work makes reading more enjoyable. I can say from experience that reading a page that is full of grammar and spelling errors is quite stressful and can even make the message useless. Even though spelling and grammar are crucial in all types of writing, it is especially important online because it truly is what makes the page work and what will make the message more polished and, quite frankly, more believable. In email as in web pages, nothing is more annoying than misleading links and inconsistent language, so even matters that are external or seem minor have major effects on website credibility and traffic.

Sentence Structure
Here, the most important thing to remember is to use clear and simple language, not buzzwords that only people in the field will understand. The simpler the better when it comes to phrasing as well because it is so much easier to read and absorb material that is to the point. The sentences also need to be strong and condensed in order to get the maximum amount of information across while not using unnecessary words. Basically, it is important to remove fluff words. Can you identify the fluff words in this paragraph?

Online Readability
Essentially, a readable page includes straightforward language, clean design, and simple sentence structures. These days, people look at a page and instantly decide if it is worth taking the time to read it or not. The page must be tailored to all kinds of audience members in the international community. Furthermore, a text-heavy page is not the better page, so people need a certain balance of text, pictures, and videos. The formatting helps the reader figure out what is key information, making the page easier to navigate. The average attention span is very short nowadays, so you only have a matter of seconds to interest your reader!

Audience
While quantitative data (demographics, etc) is important to compile, I think that qualitative data is more important because that is what will ultimately register with each viewer. This will define the audience from the get-go as well. Main question: What is the purpose of your page? To entertain? To educate? To offer products or services? The page will need to answer this question and will need to adapt to ever-changing needs and wants.

Voice
Clear, simple words are key in making the page easy to read regardless of the viewer and will help to create a more friendly voice. A less formal voice is also more welcoming, along with sentences that are not complex/long. Short, compact paragraphs are the best bet for structure, especially if you are trying to develop a voice that moves across cultures.

Mobile Text and Font
It is important to make it clear what page the reader is on and what click on certain buttons will take them to; it is frustrating to be lost within a small or large website. Having a mobile version of a website is increasingly important, and that format must show that you have those users in mind as well.

According to "The Writer's Diet" (http://www.writersdiet.com/WT.php), my style of writing is not best suited to the web. I tend to use a great deal of adjectives and adverbs and my sentences tend to be more complex than what is usually seen. This does not mean that my writing is bad; it simply means that I need to adapt my writing style to what the internet audience needs and wants out of a web page. It will take practice, but I think that I can learn what I need to do to make my writing internet-ready.