Commonly Overlooked: Wording
The wording of a website is something I believe is commonly overlooked, but is just as important as the design itself.
Too many times I have seen start-up hosts copying the style of writing from a larger provider which they aspire to be.
But it is worth noting that just because you copy aspects of another site, be it the wording, style of support etc. it doesn't mean you're going to experience the same level of growth and sign ups. Actually it won't mean anything at all.
Personally, I cringe when I see such a site. It shows lack of effort which can branch off and imply many other negative things. I have seen some InnoHosting customers do this too, so in this article, I'm going to provide some basic guidelines to follow when it comes to the content of your site.
TIP 1: Know your audience
A start-up host should not go out and advertise to the mainstream. The amount of customers is high, but so is the competition. As tempting as it may be, forget about it. Find a niche and know your niche! Know what type of customers you are attracting. Are they people wanting to host hobby sites? People which host design clients? Business users? Kids?
TIP 2: Tell them what they want to hear
Once you have established who your potential customers are, you can now begin wording your site according to what they want to see on your site. For example, say you are attracting hobby sites. Common sense dictates those people will generally want to put up some photos, maybe a blog, may not be technically minded and so want a simple to use system in which they can publish what they want easily, but without constraining their creativity. In such a case you would word your site to emphasise those qualities. I.e. make a more noticeable mention that an image gallery software is included, blogging software and SiteBuilder (all InnoHosting Resellers have the ability to provide those free of charge).
On the support page or whichever section you use to describe your site, you should play emphasis on the ease of use for the support. The friendliness of support, knowledge and speed. Reassure the visitor that with your company, the support staff are willing to help and explain things in an understandable format (note we are still carrying on the assumption that the site is attracting hobbyists).
So basically, you need to word your site to cater and attract the type of customers you are trying to attract.
TIP 3: Be articulate
Make sure you have a broad vocabulary. If not - broaden it! Nothing is more refreshing than reading text which easily flows from one sentence to the next. To achieve that, you need a good vocabulary and use a wide range of words. Avoid using words such as "and", "because", "but" etc. A rule not to break - *Never* use "and" more than once in any sentence. Nothing is more annoying than a sentence which uses "and" more than once. To me, it shows lack of creativity and lack of effort.
Read some articles on the net. Especially news websites (bbc.co.uk/news for example is a good place to start). Observe how they are wording the content of the articles. Notice how it keeps you engaged in the article regardless of how boring it may be.
Some examples of what not to say:
"Our support is super fast"
"Premium hosting" -> That is used so often it is just down right irritating. No host that genuinely provides a premium service is going to tell everyone they are "premium". Let the customer decide if you're premium or not.
"cheap hosting" -> It's a tricky one. It can be argued that it is a popular search term, but likewise, many are using it already and hence it can be difficult to make good use of this keyword in the first place.
TIP 4: Make your own style
To follow on what I mentioned before, don't copy the style of writing of another site. Some people attempt to look "cool" and so try to use more modern words or even words which have no place in that sentence. Make your own style that will have a lasting impact on the visitor, not something which is just a weak and lazy attempt to get the wording effective while not putting any effort in at all of which your company will not have a lasting impact on the client but rather turn out to just another average host.
TIP 5: Check your spelling and grammar
Pretty self explanatory.
TIP 6: Take your time!
Don't rush the wording! Take your time and do it properly first time around. The wording of your site should be something that will take several days to develop and perfect. Make several draft copies of each section which will contain some text.
I would like to kindly note that this article is not an example of well written content!
Till next time folks :-)
Too many times I have seen start-up hosts copying the style of writing from a larger provider which they aspire to be.
But it is worth noting that just because you copy aspects of another site, be it the wording, style of support etc. it doesn't mean you're going to experience the same level of growth and sign ups. Actually it won't mean anything at all.
Personally, I cringe when I see such a site. It shows lack of effort which can branch off and imply many other negative things. I have seen some InnoHosting customers do this too, so in this article, I'm going to provide some basic guidelines to follow when it comes to the content of your site.
TIP 1: Know your audience
A start-up host should not go out and advertise to the mainstream. The amount of customers is high, but so is the competition. As tempting as it may be, forget about it. Find a niche and know your niche! Know what type of customers you are attracting. Are they people wanting to host hobby sites? People which host design clients? Business users? Kids?
TIP 2: Tell them what they want to hear
Once you have established who your potential customers are, you can now begin wording your site according to what they want to see on your site. For example, say you are attracting hobby sites. Common sense dictates those people will generally want to put up some photos, maybe a blog, may not be technically minded and so want a simple to use system in which they can publish what they want easily, but without constraining their creativity. In such a case you would word your site to emphasise those qualities. I.e. make a more noticeable mention that an image gallery software is included, blogging software and SiteBuilder (all InnoHosting Resellers have the ability to provide those free of charge).
On the support page or whichever section you use to describe your site, you should play emphasis on the ease of use for the support. The friendliness of support, knowledge and speed. Reassure the visitor that with your company, the support staff are willing to help and explain things in an understandable format (note we are still carrying on the assumption that the site is attracting hobbyists).
So basically, you need to word your site to cater and attract the type of customers you are trying to attract.
TIP 3: Be articulate
Make sure you have a broad vocabulary. If not - broaden it! Nothing is more refreshing than reading text which easily flows from one sentence to the next. To achieve that, you need a good vocabulary and use a wide range of words. Avoid using words such as "and", "because", "but" etc. A rule not to break - *Never* use "and" more than once in any sentence. Nothing is more annoying than a sentence which uses "and" more than once. To me, it shows lack of creativity and lack of effort.
Read some articles on the net. Especially news websites (bbc.co.uk/news for example is a good place to start). Observe how they are wording the content of the articles. Notice how it keeps you engaged in the article regardless of how boring it may be.
Some examples of what not to say:
"Our support is super fast"
"Premium hosting" -> That is used so often it is just down right irritating. No host that genuinely provides a premium service is going to tell everyone they are "premium". Let the customer decide if you're premium or not.
"cheap hosting" -> It's a tricky one. It can be argued that it is a popular search term, but likewise, many are using it already and hence it can be difficult to make good use of this keyword in the first place.
TIP 4: Make your own style
To follow on what I mentioned before, don't copy the style of writing of another site. Some people attempt to look "cool" and so try to use more modern words or even words which have no place in that sentence. Make your own style that will have a lasting impact on the visitor, not something which is just a weak and lazy attempt to get the wording effective while not putting any effort in at all of which your company will not have a lasting impact on the client but rather turn out to just another average host.
TIP 5: Check your spelling and grammar
Pretty self explanatory.
TIP 6: Take your time!
Don't rush the wording! Take your time and do it properly first time around. The wording of your site should be something that will take several days to develop and perfect. Make several draft copies of each section which will contain some text.
I would like to kindly note that this article is not an example of well written content!
Till next time folks :-)
Labels: content writing, website design, wording, writing
posted by Rameen at
2:56 AM
2 Comments
