The Low Cost Web site Design Secrets series continues. You’ll always be able to click the link to the entire series below.

Low Cost Web Site Design Secret Number 24 : Freshness is Key.

You’ve heard, hundreds of times probably, that people come to the internet for information. But what we often overlook is that you and I come to the internet for fresh, updated information. The very nature of the internet implies that the latest thing is available at any hour of the day.

So do so few site owners update their sites on an on-going basis?

Not only should you be updating the content on your individual pages from time to time, you also want to keep adding new pages and sections to your site. The internet is quickly moving to a more dynamic nature.

Leading internet brands such as Google, Yahoo, Technorati, Amazon and Ebay, are all tending towards an internet that is constantly moving into the era of a web that changes on the fly. It is one of the reasons that updating web technology is so popular.

Blogs, content management systems, RSS and any other technology that makes it easier to update portions of your site appeal to this new trend of the web, and it is no accident that frequently changing sites are at the top of the search engines.

Static web pages and sites are becoming a thing of the past. If you don’t want your site to be a dinosaur, join the era of the dynamic web and update your site.

Nina

Ask Nina a Web Site Design Question
Web Site Design Newsletter
Web Site Design Services

Read the Rest of the Low Cost Web Site Design Secrets Series

Bookmark:

The Low Cost Web site Design Secrets series continues. You’ll always be able to click the link to the entire series below.

Low Cost Web Site Design Secret Number 23 : Master the correct tone of copy for your audience.

You will want to match the tone of your copy to the audience that is coming to your site. The vast majority of the time you’ll want a business casual voice that is conversational – the exception would be circumstances where your audience does not speak in a conversational, business casual tone. Very few commercial sites are going to fit this bill, but it’s not entirely unheard of.

For example, if you had invented a social software such as an instant messenger, while your company might be commercial, your audience speaks in a casual voice, and so should your copy.

Part of having a conversational voice is writing copy that imitates the way you would speak to your future client if there were some way for you to see them step into your virtual store. You will want to be friendly, but not overly intimate. You should use the same short sentences that you would when speaking aloud.

A good way to test your copy for a conversational tone is to open up a best-selling novel and look at a page of dialogue. Instead of actually reading the page, just glance at the layout and look at your site.

When comparing the two, you won’t be looking for an exact match to white space and use of pronouns. Rather, you’ll want to see that the layout of the page looks similiar. If you find too many blocks of text on your page or have copy that reads like an instruction manual than a letter to an aquaintance, you’ll want to have a web site designer or copywriting expert look at your page and give you some pointers.

Sometimes departures from conversational copy will be necessary – but if these are the norm at your site, it’s worth having someone give it a second look.

Nina

Ask Nina a Web Site Design Question
Web Site Design Newsletter
Web Site Design Services

Read the Rest of the Low Cost Web Site Design Secrets Series

Bookmark:

The Low Cost Web site Design Secrets series continues. You’ll always be able to click the link to the entire series below.

Low Cost Web Site Design Secret Number 22: Learn the Attributes of Effective Web Copy.

Effective web copy has a sole function, and that is to convert prospects into buyers. Your online copy needs to be persuasive in getting the visitor to register, subscribe, qualify as leads, and ultimately, buy from your web site.

Remember you are trying to get someone you can’t see and have never met take a step towards building a relationship with you or your company. Since statistics tell us that over 80% of all buying decisions are emotional, that means that you must make an appeal to the logic to get your visitor to see that they have a need for the product or service, but one that is heavily supported by emotion, to appeal to their wants as well.

You can read more about effective copy writing and web site design in our article section, including nine tips for effective copywriting.

Nina

Ask Nina a Web Site Design Question
Web Site Design Newsletter
Web Site Design Services

Read the Rest of the Low Cost Web Site Design Secrets Series

Bookmark:

The Low Cost Web site Design Secrets series continues. You’ll always be able to click the link to the entire series below.

Low Cost Web Site Design Secret Number 21: Pay attention to how copy is displayed.

Visitors don’t like to see long lines of text because they want information to be concise and quick. They want easy-to-read material. Use short, punchy sentences. Break up large chunks of text into short paragraphs or use bulleted lists.

When you get into details, make it a hyperlink to a new page around that topic. The “click here” statement should be a hyperlink taking your visitor to another page focused on describing your products or services in more detail. Use teasers. Hyperlinks are used for easy reading. This keeps your content short so visitors remain focused, yet a detailed description is just a click away.

This especially applies to blog posts. Most posts to a weblog should be about a third of the length of a regular article. If you find that your posts are normally longer than this, try putting excerpts on the front page instead of the entire post.
Nina

Ask Nina a Web Site Design Question
Web Site Design Newsletter
Web Site Design Services

Read the Rest of the Low Cost Web Site Design Secrets Series

Bookmark:

The Low Cost Web site Design Secrets series continues. You’ll always be able to click the link to the entire series below.

Low Cost Web Site Design Secret Number 20: Understand What Copy Has to Do With It

The relationship of copywriting to web design is often forgotten when designing a site. However, no matter how beautiful a site is, if the copy is ineffective, all effort is for naught.

Copywriting is writing that sells a product, a service, or even a person. It is basically taking powerful, emotion evoking word pictures and showing the reader that his or her life would be more complete – better, easier, more productive, more profitable, happier, whatever – if the visitor owned your product or service. Copywriting is everywhere – on billboards, newspaper ads, on the net, and in every USP.

And so, should it be on your site. In an upcoming post, we’ll talk about effective copywriting – but first, in a few hours, we’ll look into how it should appear on the page, which is often just as important.
Nina

Ask Nina a Web Site Design Question
Web Site Design Newsletter
Web Site Design Services

Read the Rest of the Low Cost Web Site Design Secrets Series

Bookmark: