How to Avoid Sloppy Web Site Copy
By Herman Drost
If your web site visitor can't find the information on your web site, within ten
seconds or less, you will lose them. Two of the largest factors that contribute to
this, are the lack of clear purpose and poor layout of your web pages. Let's look at
how you can resolve each of these issues.
Lack of clear purpose - the first page of your web site must have a clear title and
description, which immediately states what your site is about. (if you need help to
determine the purpose of web site, read: "How To Build A Web Site That Sells"
www.isitebuild.com/buildingA.htm
You must include a clear benefit of your product or service in your description. For
example if you are a web design company, your title may be "How to Build a Web Site
That Sells". Your description may be something like: "Let us save you precious time
and hassles, by designing a professional web site that WILL sell your product or service".
In this example, you have stated the clear purpose of your web site (designing a professional
web sites that sell) and given your readers a clear benefit (saving time and hassles).
The rest of your web page, should support the title and description of your web site.
Continue to emphasize the benefits of your product to your visitors. You should
conclude your copy with a call to action eg "click here to order".
Layout of Your Copy - you may spend a lot of time and money, to attract visitors to
your web site, but if you have a poorly designed web page, then visitors will become
frustrated and leave.
1. Alignment - There are 3 kinds of alignment for your web page - left side, right
side and centered. Choose one, then use it on the entire page or even throughout your
other web pages. Don't try to mix alignments, because this will make your web page
look unprofessional.
One such example, is to align all the text on your page to the left. This will create
a strong edge and make it easier for your visitors to navigate and read. Avoid bumping
up your text to the navigation bar or graphics. Create an equal amount of space between
all the elements on your page. If they are bunched up, it will create a cluttered appearance.
2. How To Use White Space - Visitors do not appreciate useless clutter and masses of
content on Web Pages. Most users prefer a page with well distributed content resulting
in less clutter. Users quickly scan pages and the more that they must scan through,
the more information they will miss.
This does not mean you should not provide a lot of information. Just do not provide it
all on one page. Each page should contain approximately 50 per cent less text than a
printed version of the same information.
If you have a lot of copy on your web site, try to have only 4-6 sentences per
paragraph. Split the page up into different topics, with the subject title close to
the accompanying text.
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