Visitors Appreciate Well Written Copy

If you are used to designing for printed materials you will understand the need for good 'copy'. However, reading web pages on a monitor is very different from reading printed materials and your copy needs to be written specifically for your web site. Some of the factors you should take into account:

Web Site Content that will be read:

Less Is More

People read up to 25% slower on a monitor than on paper so help your visitors by using small paragraphs containing short sentences. If you are modifying content from printed brochures as a rule of thumb compress the copy to less than half the size.

Web Users Scan Content

Help your visitors scan your content by breaking long pages up into smaller sections and using headings that clearly state the topic under discussion.

Be Consistent

Users appreciate consistency, if several people contribute content check their styles and strive for consistency.

Highlight What You Consider Significant

In the newspaper industry they design 'above the fold' with eye-catching information at the top of the page where it can be seen when the newspaper is 'folded'. Place your most important content at the top of the screen, visitors will scroll down to read the rest if you have caught their attention.

Be Objective and avoid Clichés

Achieving a sense of credibility is important, choose a neutral approach rather than boastful or exaggerated claims and marketing language. Have respect for your visitors and they will respect you.

Be Clear About What You Do

A web site should immediately communicate what it has to offer, keep the front page informative and to the point and be clear about what the site or company does.

Lists Help Visitors

Numbered and bulleted lists slow down visitors scanning and draw focus to significant points.

Be Up to Date

If you have time sensitive information then keep it updated on a regular basis, otherwise remove it. Schedule your updates to ensure out of date information doesn't damage your web site's credibility.

Be Careful with Underlining

The convention on the internet is that underlined text is normally associated with hyperlinks and nderlining words for added prominence can be very confusing.

If you have any questions or think we can help with your web presence, please don't hesitate to contact SEO Web Design today.