It's been said that when you write for the Web, write as much as you must, but as little as you can. So, how much text should you reasonably expect people to read on one website page?

While there are no hard-and-fast rules one thing is clear: people have little patience for text-heavy websites.

Sound advice

Most people would rather scan a page than read it word-for-word, so keep that in mind as you develop content. Here are some other tips and tricks that will help you engage your readers:

• Use subheads to guide readers to information that is important to them.
• Use bullet-point lists wherever possible.
• When using lists, put the important bullet points first, second and last. Research shows this is how people read lists. Other bullets are less likely to be read.
• Proofread your work! (Better yet, have someone else do it.)

There are times--we are writers, we know--that you will find yourself having to write full-on sentences and paragraphs. If that happens to you, make them short.

And one last piece of advice: when you are done, stop writing.