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