web site design services No matter what else you do with your website, your content is king. What you say and how you say it transcends even the most elegant design or flash filled site. Your online content needs to communicate clearly and persuasively; doing so creates high quality content that will not only provide impact and deliver results, but will also serve you well with the search engines. Web site content and web site design go hand in hand. A site filled with flash, animation and that tries to "trick" the search engines to achieve high rankings may accomplish oohs and aahs, but leaves its visitors looking for the content. Search engine optimization experts agree that well-written content combined with accurate descriptions, appropriate keywords and a site designed for easy navigation delivers better search engine rankings and a much higher quality experience for your visitor. If visitors can find your site, and once there, find the information they're looking for - they will come back to your site, and repeat visitors turn into paying customers. guidelines Your web content should follow a few guidelines: - website visitors skim content, then read the parts that interest them. If they are really interested, they will print the page to read it more fully
- concise and clear headlines - make it easy for your visitors to identify those parts of a page on your site that interest them
- make the most important points stand out - bold and italicized text to highlight the points you really want visitors to pick up on.
- address your viewers directly. Your site's content should emphasize, either directly or implicitly, what your site and company, product or service can do for them. Content filled with "me", "we", and "us" makes your reader have to decipher how your company or product benefits them. This is a subtle, but very effective strategy that involves your audience directly and helps them to envision exactly how you can help them.
- Marketing 101: explain the features and benefits of your product or service; emphasizing the benefits of your product and how it will help your customer is more important to your customer than just listing your product's features
- make your information easy to find, not several clicks away - when you are visiting a site and find a product you want to buy, do you really want to wade through 4 or 5 more pages to find details, pricing and shipping costs? Neither do your customers.
- when writing your copy for your web site, constantly ask yourself - "what does this really mean?" and "who cares?" - if you actively try to imagine your visitors questions, comments and doubts, you can clarify your content before your visitors start sending you e-mail asking for clarification.
- call to action: ask your visitor to take action on your site, by signing up for a newsletter, fill in a request for information form or buy your product.
- build trust by making it easy for your customers to find you. Don't conceal your physical address or contact numbers. If they don't believe you have a physical location where they can reach you, they will not be convinced enough to send you their money.
On the right-hand side are links to pages with more detailed information about content and copywriting for high impact websites. Please read on for more information, or contact us any time by phone, fax or email for more information.
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