If you are just starting out writing for the Internet, it's easy to just post content that pops into your mind. Anyone can create a blog, right? In fact most writing on the net is of poor quality. The good news is that if you follow a few simple rules, your webpages will stand out from the vast majority. Here are 5 'Must NOT Do's' for web copy:

Number one: creating great long paragraphs that are hard to read. Unless your audience is particularly academic, keep to short chunks of text - about 3 sentences per paragraph is a good rule of thumb. Computer screens make reading hard work - don't add to the burden.

After this comes an even more common mistake: not leaving enough space between paragraphs. This white space is essential to give the eyes a break and to aid scanning. Make it easy for visitors to skim read your blog post.

The third pitfall that affects a surprising number of writers is thinking that text on its own is enough. You need to be an outstanding wordsmith to manage this. Bloggers like Steve Pavlina are the exception rather than the rule. The rest of us need images, text boxes and other media to keep the visitor's attention.

Of course going to the other extreme is very common. I'm talking about websites that are all the colors of the rainbow, with flashing effects and garish banners.

A low key look and feel means that when you do use color it will stand out, and in a good way!

The final and perhaps most stupid mistake is failing to learn from others. Look at your favorite informational sites. What is it that makes the writing effective? Why is the text easy to read? Now go ahead and borrow these techniques (without copying the text of course).