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Communicating effectively on your website

Written by Louise Meers on the 03/02/2009

We've all seen bad copy on websites. It's the type that makes you stare at the screen in confusion, cringe with embarrassment, or Google another company who might be better at communicating with you. This is why it is important to understand how to communicate effectively with your target audience. If you can't convey your message in a simple, straightforward way, you are likely to lose business to a competitor that can. But with a little focus, discipline and attention to detail, you can turn your rusty copy into something that sings praise and professionalism for you and your business.

The most common mistake people make with their copy is with the actual wording. To communicate effectively with your target audience, it is crucial that you get this right. No one wants to scroll through pages and pages of your company's aims and objectives. This could suggest the business has unclear goals. People also want their information quick, so this means you need to be succinct. Mastering the art of clarity and simplicity can be difficult to begin with. Here are a few pointers that should get you going in the right direction:

• Read your current copy out loud. How does it sound? If it's short, snappy and makes sense then you've done a good job. If you can't read a whole sentence without taking a breath, you need to rethink it. Perhaps break the sentence into two or three or use well-placed commas to indicate pause.
• Try to avoid fancy words. Whoever told you that big words make you sound more intelligent or professional was very wrong. You want people to understand you. This means you need to use language they are comfortable and familiar with. Keep your tone polite and casual, but avoid using slang.
• Think about the aim of the copy. Does it excite and entice you? Does it make you want to find out more? Sometimes it's difficult to judge your own work – you know exactly what the meaning and intention is but someone else may not. Get someone who will be critical to look over it for you. If they get confused or tongue-tied by the wording, then you need to change it.

Now that you've perfected the wording of your copy, it's time to think about presentation. Although presentation is leaning more towards design principles, it's still relevant in terms of effective communication. Your target audience wants to read something that sounds great and looks great. It's all about holding their attention for as long as possible. This is not always easy on the Internet but if you get the presentation of your copy right, your chances will increase. Consider the following when you're planning the 'look' of your website's copy:

• White space! If you have one long slab of text on the page, it's going to turn everybody off. When you open a website that has a large amount of text, chances are you're going to think it's too much effort to read. Your audience is no different. By breaking up your copy into paragraphs, you make the information more manageable for the audience. You've then created white space and a more appealing page both visually and communicatively.
• Everything needs to be relational. This means your copy should relate to what is around it regarding design, particularly graphics. For example, if you have images of your team, place the 'About Us' copy directly near this image. This allows the audience to draw easy connections between information and objects.
• If your copy looks overwhelmed by the design of the website then you need to consider adding more to it. It is vital that you strike the perfect balance between text and images. This balance also depends on the type of website, so you need to establish which of the two is more appropriate in terms of communicating your ideas.

Communication between you and your customers is a precious thing. If you get it wrong, or you make the process difficult for them by not providing clear information, they are likely to lose interest and take their business elsewhere. Next time you are thinking of updating your website's copy, spend time considering the wording. Don't take the "anything will do" approach to this. Try and get your message across as simply as you can, and work on making your copy friendly and to the point. If you're stuck or if writing is not your area of expertise, then ask a copywriter for some help. They're trained to weave wonders through your copy, and know exactly how to keep your audience or customers interested. Don't forsake your copy for design, try and get that balance between them and you'll make communication effective and easy for everyone involved.

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