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Following are some items to consider before hiring a web content writer, embarking on a new web site or revising an existing web presence.
Contact me and we'll discuss how we can use this web content education to improve the copy on your site.
Do
 Before you begin: do your homework
- Research your competition. What products and/or services do they offer online? Who do they target? What "voice" do they use?
- Find your online competitors by going to a search engine and typing in a word or phrase that best matches your products and/or services.
- When reviewing your competition...make a list of features you like and dislike. Use this information during the planning phase of your web content or design project.
| "Dawn is a very diligent and detailed person. She made superb recommendations on site design and content layout when we worked together on the redesign of www.michaelsfeat.org.
Dawn delivers on time and is great at taking an idea or concept and coming right back with a web solution that achieves the ultimate goal. I stongly endorse Dawn's work and recommend the services of Web Content Plus"
-Tom Cosentino, President, iMedia Public Relations |
Consolidate web content
- According to Jakob Nielsen, an expert in web site usability, "Reading from computer screens is 25% slower than reading from paper.
People rarely read web pages word-by-word, instead they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences. As such, content should be fluff-free and to-the-point."
Tell customers why they should do business with you
- Your site should communicate how you stand out from the competition (i.e., testimonials, years in business, awards won, etc.). Make sure your "voice" comes through.
Give your web content some personality.
Make informed choices
- Couple your web content with images that represent your company, product or service.
Have a plan in place to drive traffic to your web site
- Having a web site and not announcing it is like designing a brochure and hiding it in a drawer. Use social media, marketing and
promotion to tell the world where you are and increase site traffic.
Don't
Be wordy
- See Consolidate Content from the above "Do"
list. According to Jakob Nielsen, "Users detest marketese - the promotional
writing style with boastful subjective claims. Web users are
busy: they want to get the straight facts. Also, credibility
suffers when users see that the site exaggerates".
Use large graphics
- Everyone connects at different speeds. If your site takes too long to download...visitors will become frustrated and leave.
Assume your audience will know what you mean
- Couple company specific terminology with general explanations. Make sure product and service descriptions are easily understood by your target audience.
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