Website Design, Website Development

Flawless web copy: a critical factor in your website’s success

Web copy can be as powerful as visual design in leaving the right impression on your visitors and inciting them to act upon your business goals. So don’t jeapardise your prospects with poor copy: it can reflect far more negatively on your organisation’s reputation than any design shortfall.

Websites are becoming the number one point of reference in gathering information prior to committing to a purchase. This means that content is increasingly critical even for sites without eCommerce solutions or online sales.

Words leave an indelible mark on people’s impressions of your brand, organisation and products. A web site visit is in many ways a ‘moment of truth’ for prospective clients, and just as the way a customer service representative responds to an enquiry over the phone or in person impacts on your brand, so does the online experience.

Let’s face it, we all love pointing out other people’s mistakes, and the most obvious mistakes on a website are grammar and spelling slip-ups. Your clients will be very quick to point out to you, and more to the point, their friends and family, any errors they consider to be amusing or unforgivably amateurish.

Web copy is often under-valued, under-funded and under-estimated. The greatest power of web copy lies in its ability to inspire prospects to act. No image can give a call to action like words can.

But you must communicate your message efficiently and rapidly. Did you know that online writing should be about 50 percent shorter than its offline counterpart? This means your copy should consist of short, sharp snippets, not long blocks of narrative or commentary.

Tone is another important element if writing effective web copy. Use a warm, friendly tone and avoid stiff, corporate or overly formal language – its not an annual report! Stay away from jargon and industry-specific vocab.

Finally, resist the temptation to use your website to vent marketing hype – media-savvy online readers instinctively skim past sales language such as ‘best ever’, ‘number 1’, and ‘cutting edge’ to get to the point.