Back to basics. Forget funky design, good copywriting is the key to a clear and intuitive website.
Are you losing business because of your website? More and more customers are logging on to the Web to decide where to spend their money because it is quick and convenient, and they can jump from site to site instead of walking from store to store.
Web savvy customers don't need to be patient, studies have shown that you need to engage a potential customer very quickly by giving them easy, fast access to the information they need. Otherwise they will simply move on to the next site.
Appealing design and speedy functionality are important but they don't ensure that your site is well structured (intuitive) or well written (clear).
Write First
The real message on most websites is in the writing, and so it makes sense that the writing should determine the structure. Unfortunately, this is not the usual case. Most businesses choose the structure and design of their site first and then try and fit the writing around that structure. This flies in the face of commonsense. When you speak to someone, you structure your speech around your message, you don't decide on a structure then change the message to suit. So you need to plan what you want to say before you create the site. Maybe even write the whole thing first and then use the message to determine the structure.
When deciding what to write, think about what your customer wants to know rather than what you want to say. It's a subtle difference, but it is the key to engaging a potential customer.
Most customers will want to know the basics:
What do you do?
What benefit can you offer them?
Why should they choose your service or product?
What does it cost?
How can they contact you?
Where are you located?
Brevity & Clarity
Your website has to communicate a lot of information and to make matters worse, you are going to have limited space. Ideally, your customer won't have to scroll on any page (all your information will fit in a single window) and that single view will need to contain more than just words. The design and navigation elements take up about a third of a window, and you should leave a bit of room for white space (you don't want to overwhelm the customer). As a rule of thumb you should expect to have about half the window free for text.
How you are going to fit all your information in such a confined space? This is where writing skills come in - choose your words very carefully.
Websites can be an extremely powerful piece of marketing collateral. You can reach millions of potential customers for as little as a few hundred dollars. Unfortunately, your competitors are all doing the same thing - it's a level playing field but there are a lot of players.
It is important that your message is structured and well thought out, otherwise your site will be a mess and no-one will bother to read about your business. If your message is clear, your site will be simple and easy to use. It's all in the words.
About The Author
* Glenn Murray is an seo copywriter and seo copywriter. He is a director of seo copywriter and also of copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at seo copywriter. Visit http://www.divinewrite.com or http://www.publishhub.com for further details, more FREE articles, or to purchase his e-book, 'SEO Secrets'.
apartment cleaning near Highland Park ..In my web surfing adventures, I've found a few site... Read More
When you develop a sales brochure, you have a mental... Read More
You've likely heard of the movie, Jerry Maguire, with its... Read More
Are you looking to create the perfect website? A complete... Read More
No matter what product or service you're promoting, unless you... Read More
In this era of ultra-sophisticated internet marketing and web design,... Read More
Gone are the days when you had to rely on... Read More
If you've a website that is not generating a lot... Read More
Questions to ask when designing a Web Site for your... Read More
Your business website tells a lot about your company. A... Read More
The .htaccess file is a control file located in your... Read More
Daily article:One of the most debated subject among webmasters is... Read More
As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as... Read More
Internet Explorer, created by microsoft has been the most popular... Read More
When a prospect lands on your website will he or... Read More
Any kid, and their grandmother too, can make a webpage.... Read More
Do you know why the majority of people use the... Read More
FACT: 30 to 60% of visitors tend to drop off... Read More
If your website is falling through the cracks, the chances... Read More
CNN.com's designers have gone out of their way to make... Read More
1. Lack of overall strategy and clear definition of success:Most... Read More
Customers will form an opinion of your business as soon... Read More
The HTML editor is usually a webpage design software that... Read More
How many of the visitors to your web site take... Read More
When designing elements for your webpage, you will often be... Read More
cleaning lady near Arlington Heights ..Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have... Read More
Does website design make a difference in how long people... Read More
New Web sites are springing up online by the millions.... Read More
I once created a notepad-like editor. It is possible with... Read More
Are you building your website? If so, STOP! Take a... Read More
Wether you design your business brochures, flyers, web page, or... Read More
If you are trying to sell a product or service... Read More
Designing your website means you have to be creative, plan... Read More
Let's face it. Buying products and services from the Internet... Read More
There are two camps when it comes to flash web... Read More
If someone doesn't know you personally, will they trust you... Read More
Your website is your tool for showing the online community... Read More
Over the years, the internet has grown into a marvelous... Read More
Web Site Awards are given from other sites to reward... Read More
QUESTION: My business is very small, just me and... Read More
A "template" is simply a design format which you can... Read More
Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any... Read More
It is a well-known fact that a successful business depends... Read More
In today's age of fast food and high-speed Internet, a... Read More
The trend today to overuse animation in a website's opening... Read More
You have probably viewed many Flash-based components while surfing the... Read More
This article may come as a surprise to you.Especially since... Read More
No question about it, web design is an art. Finding... Read More
Not all links are created equal.While all of your links... Read More
You may not believe it, but people still judge things... Read More
Web Design |