Your Website Could be Letting You Down

A professionally presented business website is a powerful and essential marketing tool: it's the first thing prospective customers will look at before they decide to contact you.

If the copy on your website is not written to an acceptable standard, it may be losing you customers. It's not enough just to have amazing graphics and imagery: you need the words to make it complete. Is the spelling correct? Are punctuation marks in place? Does the copy make sense? These are questions that website designers should be asking themselves before they upload a new site.

One of the biggest flaws with website copy is inconsistency: for example the word 'website'. Some sites spell it as one word, some as two words; as far as I am aware both are acceptable, but not both versions on the same site! In my opinion, a lack of consistency will deter a significant amount of would-be customers from using the services of a company that has not taken the trouble to proofread their website.

Poor spelling on a website is another costly but avoidable mistake. The majority of visitors will leave the site very quickly if they find too many spelling errors. This again will give them the impression that the site owners don't really care; and they would be right! I am also convinced that copy that has been 'padded out' with insignificant trivia is also a big turn-off for visitors ? clear, concise and informative is the order of the day.

Anything containing textual content should as a matter of course be proofread: it's important that not only are mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar found and corrected, but that the text flows smoothly for the reader. The copy on a website should not be treated as the 'poor relation' of the project. You can have the most up-to-date, eye-catching graphics available but you will still need well-written copy to compliment them.

There are vast amounts of web design companies around that will happily inform visitors how they can supply them with a state-of-the-art website but then insert second-rate copy, which totally negates any good work they have achieved. This will reduce the initial impact of the site, and more often than not will have an adverse effect on business.

Remember: if visitors to your site can't find the information they are looking for because of badly written copy they will simply leave the site. The only people to benefit will be your competitors.

I am a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. I also write web copy and occasionally accept small copy-editing assignments.

---

The Top 8 Website Sins Part One

They say the eyes are the window to the soul.... Read More

Building Web Sites Using Web Templates

Gone are the days when you had to rely on... Read More

Choose & Use the Best Colors

The Psychology of ColorAre you using the best colors for... Read More

Choose & Use the Best Colors, The Psychology of Color

Are you using the best colors for your web site?... Read More

Web Design: Use it to Showcase the Message

If you are designing a web site for which the... Read More

How to use Emotional Content to Increase Visitor Response

Did you know that many folks make "buying decisions" when... Read More

Leave Those Links Blue!

Don't mess with those links! When you're designing your site,... Read More

You Had Me At the Search Engine

You've likely heard of the movie, Jerry Maguire, with its... Read More

Don?t Put Your Slogan in the Title Tag - Optimize Your Web Pages

Don't just put your slogan in the title tag when... Read More

How Not To Get Web Design Work

I get the occasional web design lead from my website.... Read More

Learn the Truth about Your Web Design Company by Its Portfolio

When you start building your online business and search for... Read More

Awards Program Debate

Daily article:One of the most debated subject among webmasters is... Read More

Web-Safe Fonts for Your Site

Choosing the right typeface for your website copy is important,... Read More

Creating Personal Web Sites

This is a two-part article about creating a web site... Read More

Offshore Web Design and Development - Use Great Opportunities

Sooner or later every small or medium business owner realizes... Read More

Make Your Site Quick To Load!

The time it takes to load your site can make... Read More

14 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site - Part 2

7. Create high quality content - make clear points with... Read More

50 Surefire Web Design Tips

Tips to brand your websiteInclude your logo in all pages.... Read More

Increase Sales on Your Website! Use Graphics!

How many times have you clicked on a website only... Read More

How to Chose Stock Photography for your Web Site

So you've decided to take the plunge. You know that... Read More

A Landing Page is Not an Order Page (and why it matters)

To explain my point I need to first confuse the... Read More

Website Polls For You And Your Visitors

Setting up a survey on your site is extremely simple... Read More

How To Improve The Professional Look And Feel Of Your Website

Projecting a professional image is paramount to your website's success.... Read More

Orient Your First-time Web Site Visitor

Imagine spinning someone around so profoundly and for so long... Read More

Choosing the Right Web Designer

Creating your web site can be a tricky process. Choosing... Read More

10 Web Site Design And Writing No-Nos

1. Don't load your web site with a lot of... Read More

An Ideal Home Business Home Page

From my personal experience of around two year as home... Read More

Your Graphics- Are They Really Working For You?

(Making Your Graphics Work For You)It's no secret that a... Read More

Quality Web Copy is the Key to Success

Many websites make the mistake of being all flash and... Read More

Click Here

See, works every time. Seriously now, for some reason people... Read More

Dont Overdo it!

Have you ever been to site with so much ad... Read More

Why Use a Web Design Template?

What is a Website Template?Many smart and savvy businesses are... Read More

How to Create A Homepage That Works

Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More