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While Writing Web Content, Say What You Mean

Posted by Jason Swartz on March 4, 2010 at March 4, 2010 9:56 AM

One of our many responsibilities as professional communicators is providing customers with information. This is especially true on the Web.

A common offense of Web marketers (myself included) is saying a lot without really saying anything. I recently found a serious offender while researching a few Web analytics tools. Here's how this company tried to explain one of their services (leaving out the company's name):

"XYZ connectors streamline integration with your enterprise warehouse. XYZ's WIDGET, for example, automatically parses online customer data and loads data into the appropriate XYZ models."

Understand what they do? Me neither. Not only is this copy confusing, it has no personality - something that's critical to effective Web writing.

The majority of people visiting your site aren't reading your copy in depth. Argue if you'd like, but that's reality. This doesn't mean your site shouldn't have copy. It means that copy should be simple and to-the-point. It should also contain relevant keywords. Regarding the offender above, I doubt anyone's searching on "streamlined integration that automatically parses online customer dataloads."

Say what you mean. Your site visitors will appreciate how easy you make it for them to find the information they want. Keeping it simple may also give you an edge over competitors who are selling similar products and services.

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Posted by: Peter Jones at March 22, 2010 3:31 PM

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