We’ve had a little break from blogging over Christmas and the New Year but we’re back now with more tips to help you create a winning website.
This instalment will help you get your website content up to scratch as writing your website content requires a different approach from writing content for printed literature.
People tend to read more slowly on the web as reading from a screen can tire your eyes. Therefore your website content needs to be short and to the point.
Purpose: Think about the purpose of your website content. Is it to sell? What is your product or service?
Why should someone use your product or serve rather than anyone else? What is your USP (Unique Selling Point)?
Readers on the web scan - or skim - text rather than read every word. So answering these questions and getting your message across quickly can be done by highlighting text.
Using bold text to add emphasis, making keywords hyperlinks to further information and using bulleted lists are all good methods.
However, try not to rely on colour as a surprisingly large percentage of males (8% to 12%) are colour blind and many web users are visually impaired so the wrong mix of colours will mean any emphasis is lost on them.
Human Interactivity: You don’t have long to engage with a reader.
Research suggests you have just 10 seconds to capture the attention of your reader and if successful you’ll have just under a minute to provide the reader with a clear understanding of your company or product.
And don’t forget what your ultimate goal is? Direct your reader with a clear call to action.
Information Process: In writing it is common to build anticipation and lead up to a big reveal.
When writing for the web use the ‘inverted pyramid’ theory, where the most important point or conclusion comes first.
This could be a fantastic price upfront, then your web page can cascade down to reveal exactly what it is you get for this price in descending order of importance.
Verbal Expression: Identify your audience and write in an appropriate tone. Building credibility is major factor in retaining a reader’s interest. Use objective language with meaningful headlines and sub-headings. Avoid marketing jargon or exaggerated claims.
Attention to detail: Spelling, grammar and other errors are a real turn-off. Check and double-check your content.
Get someone else to review it before you publish as they may notice errors you’ve overlooked.
You may have prepared your text in Word® or a similar word processing package and then copied and pasted the content into your web-editor.
During this process errors can be introduced so it’s always good practice to review your final web page exactly as it will appear for your readers.
So once you’ve published your content live online - read it once again for good measure.
FREE Website Rating
Most of these elements are customizable to a degree and ensuring they look like an integral part of your website and making them look as though they are supposed to be there to add value to and not detract from your website is important in providing a complete user experience.
Look out for our next instalment focusing on website oringality but if you can’t wait and would like to submit your website for a FREE website rating then visit our Web Design section on our website and enter your details in the form on the left-hand side of the page.
This instalment will help you get your website content up to scratch as writing your website content requires a different approach from writing content for printed literature.
People tend to read more slowly on the web as reading from a screen can tire your eyes. Therefore your website content needs to be short and to the point.
Purpose: Think about the purpose of your website content. Is it to sell? What is your product or service?
Why should someone use your product or serve rather than anyone else? What is your USP (Unique Selling Point)?
Readers on the web scan - or skim - text rather than read every word. So answering these questions and getting your message across quickly can be done by highlighting text.
Using bold text to add emphasis, making keywords hyperlinks to further information and using bulleted lists are all good methods.
However, try not to rely on colour as a surprisingly large percentage of males (8% to 12%) are colour blind and many web users are visually impaired so the wrong mix of colours will mean any emphasis is lost on them.
Human Interactivity: You don’t have long to engage with a reader.
Research suggests you have just 10 seconds to capture the attention of your reader and if successful you’ll have just under a minute to provide the reader with a clear understanding of your company or product.
And don’t forget what your ultimate goal is? Direct your reader with a clear call to action.
Information Process: In writing it is common to build anticipation and lead up to a big reveal.
When writing for the web use the ‘inverted pyramid’ theory, where the most important point or conclusion comes first.
This could be a fantastic price upfront, then your web page can cascade down to reveal exactly what it is you get for this price in descending order of importance.
Verbal Expression: Identify your audience and write in an appropriate tone. Building credibility is major factor in retaining a reader’s interest. Use objective language with meaningful headlines and sub-headings. Avoid marketing jargon or exaggerated claims.
Attention to detail: Spelling, grammar and other errors are a real turn-off. Check and double-check your content.
Get someone else to review it before you publish as they may notice errors you’ve overlooked.
You may have prepared your text in Word® or a similar word processing package and then copied and pasted the content into your web-editor.
During this process errors can be introduced so it’s always good practice to review your final web page exactly as it will appear for your readers.
So once you’ve published your content live online - read it once again for good measure.
FREE Website Rating
Most of these elements are customizable to a degree and ensuring they look like an integral part of your website and making them look as though they are supposed to be there to add value to and not detract from your website is important in providing a complete user experience.
Look out for our next instalment focusing on website oringality but if you can’t wait and would like to submit your website for a FREE website rating then visit our Web Design section on our website and enter your details in the form on the left-hand side of the page.
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