How to Write Good Excerpts in WordPress (Or, in General)

Write good excerpts

(UPDATED ON June 20, 2018) When writing blog excerpts in WordPress, it’s imperative that you should write well-crafted good excerpts so that readers click through and read the full entry.

To write good excerpts, you must first understand what an excerpt is and its purpose. The other day we wrote an article explaining those very things; you can find the article here. However, in short, an excerpt is a brief description of a longer article and is designed to tell a reader what information she will gain from reading the entire article.

Excerpt Area in WordPress (To Write Good Excerpts)
Excerpt Area in WordPress

For short articles, the first paragraph works as an excerpt but for long articles in which the first paragraph is insufficient for explaining the necessary depth, a custom excerpt is necessary.

An excerpt should be written such that it describes the full scope of the article. Writing an excerpt isn’t an exact science, but there are things you can do to make the process more painless. So, without loitering much, here are some…

…Tips to write good excerpts in WordPress…

…which is equally applicable to other websites.

Write Clean. An excerpt should be descriptive. It should explain all the keys points of your article. Make sure they are free from grammatical errors.

Write with the readers in mind. Don’t fake your excerpts as this will create a bad impression on your readers. Use clear and direct language to make it easier for the readers. Save embellishments, excess adjectives and wordplay for the main article itself.

Remember search engines. Consider, for a moment, the descriptions you see when you do a search at Google; two lines, 150 characters (including spaces), totaling about 25-30 words. That is all the room you get to compel a reader to your site and the same should be applied to excerpts.

Write the excerpt last. Waiting until an article is finished allows you to read through it in its entirety. With all the key points at your disposal, you become better able to describe the article.

Just write. Don’t be afraid to play around with your excerpts until you find a balance that is suitable for both you and your readers.

In Conclusion

Writing a professional excerpt in WordPress isn’t rocket science. You just need to remember that simplicity is the key to writing a good one.

We hope these little tips assist you to write good excerpts. Any tips and suggestions? Comment, to help us share.

Reference: TechCrank.com
Featured Image: The Writing Cooperative

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