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We have now officially entered the holiday season! It's time to get those seasonal cards sent, decorate your home (and office), and start planning for family gatherings. Oh, and your boss asked me to remind you: don't forget to revamp the company website. You know, the one little item that's been on your to-do list for months. You're supposed to notate problems with the old site, add a few new pages and update the existing content. What's that? You're swamped with "more important" projects and you haven't even begun to think about where to start with this one? Well, you may be in luck. I've got a brand-new service to share with you. It's affordable. It's effective. It will save you time. And if you really have been procrastinating, it may just help you keep your job. Wow 'em with your website! Paul Durfee, President of ABI Technology ( www.abitechnology.com), and I have paired up to offer a comprehensive website critiquing service. At your request we'll take trip through your site and take notes on design, usability, and content. Then you'll receive a report pinpointing problem areas and offering suggestions on ways to make improvements. What's in it for you A thorough review of your current site is a logical step towards creating a more striking, user-friendly website. A well-designed site with killer content will net more visitors, encourage them to browse around, and entice them to use your services or buy your product. Doesn't get any better than that, now, does it? If you're a do-it-yourselfer and want to use feedback from your critique to begin an overhaul on your own time, that's cool. If you'd like us to refurbish the site for you, however, we'd love to work with you. Details, details Our comprehensive website critiquing service is now available for a special introductory rate of just $79.95. But wait, there's more! Here's a special offer for WriteTips subscribers. Request a critique during the month of December and receive an additional 20% off! If you decide to retain our services to redesign/revise your website, the critique will be FR*E and you'll only pay for the redesign/revision services. Contact me for more information or to request a comprehensive website critique today! So how do you know if your website needs a touch up? Check out this month's article below to find out. Have a safe & happy holiday season! All the best, Cassie Hart Workin' the web Your website is the gateway to your business. Before setting foot in your store to browse through stock or picking up the phone to learn more about your services, many potential customers will simply punch in your URL. If they can't find what they're looking for due to confusing layouts, disorganized or uninformative content, or super slow downloading speeds, they'll give up. Do you think they'll come back later? It's not likely. Websites are powerful marketing tools that can truly enhance your business. Is your website living up to its potential? Use the questions below to check a few basic elements of your site. Design/usability Is your website consistent in appearance? The overall structure of your site should have some sort of uniformity (e.g., navigation and company name/logo is in the same location on every page). Visual consistency will help establish a rapport with visitors. If they're familiar with the look of your site, they'll feel comfortable browsing around. (HINT: Templates are useful tools to help establish and maintain a consistent look for web pages.) Can visitors navigate easily around your site? Don't make it difficult for visitors to get around your site or they'll leave. Stick with basic, descriptive terms for your navigation system. Labeling a link "about us" to describe a company background information page is a lot more clear than using an overly general term, such as "beginnings." Do the pages download quickly? Fancy sites with lots animated graphics may be visually impressive, but for users with slower connections, frustration is often the only result. It's best to skip in- depth animation and space-hogging graphics altogether. Are visitors able to locate the information that they need? Again, make it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for. Include all basic information such as contact and ordering details. Also, check to see that all links---both within and outside of your site---are active. Nothing is more annoying than clicking on a link and receiving a "page not available" message. Content/readability Is the content on your site written specifically for the web? Many websites use content taken directly from a printed brochure or flyer. Sure, it's simple to cut and paste text from a file intended for a print document, but when placed on the web its effectiveness is pretty poor. Online and print publications are two entirely separate mediums. Each warrants its own approach to writing and organizing quality content. Are readers able to skim through text? Another trick for making online text readable is to use shorter sentences, block paragraphs, and bulleted lists. If readers have to wade through a bunch of text to find the information they're looking for, they'll simply click to another site--possibly your competitors'! Does the content urge readers to take some sort of action? This is not unlike writing marketing collateral for print. At some point readers need to be urged to take action: make a purchase, schedule an appointment, or call for more information. If you don't tell potential customers what you want them to do, they may not make the effort to figure it out on their own. So how does your website measure up? If it abides by all of the principles listed above, you've got several of the basic web design principles covered. If not, you may want to consider a website critique! Contact me for more information.
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email: cahart@att.net voice: 309.454.1908 web: http://www.cassiehartwriter.com |
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This email was sent to moosic2@hotmail.com, by Cassie Hart Copywriting and Editorial Services. |
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