8 ways to improve your Web site

By Thomas Lamprecht

Lamprecht is vice president, executive creative director for Hacker Group in Seattle. During his Madison Avenue career, he created award-winning campaigns for Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller firms. Initially a designer, Lamprecht learned to copywrite, developing a well-rounded approach to print, broadcast and online marketing. He has worked with a variety of agencies including Bates Worldwide, Wunderman Cato Johnson, and Siegel & Gale. In 2000, he opened a new division of Grey Global Group in San Francisco.

We've come a long way since Web gurus first taught "content is king." Content is a given. No legitimate marketer is creating banner ads that invite us to catch the monkey anymore.

If not quite a monkey, creative on the Web is a different animal from other advertising creative or PR and sales collateral. Use these guidelines to hone your writing and design:

1. Search engines are word-driven. For someone to find your site, ensure the keywords that are most important for your audience are posting prominently. That makes Web copywriting a real craft of its own. It's worth hiring professional help for this.

2. Too many words repel readers. Aim for half the words you might use on paper. A clean design needs room to breathe. White space is attractive. Concise copywriting, or at least a ruthless editor, is essential.

3. Readers are attracted to scannable copy. Use highlighting, as well as lists.

4. Web design offers a subliminal edge over competitors. Gain an emotional advantage for your brand with features such as unique navigation or lush and memorable design.

5. Designers may hide functionality in an effort to create a sleek look. Test the site to ensure that users don’t have to struggle to find information.

6. Clicking and scrolling for appealing information engages visitors. Sprinkling a little video on a site may help visitors become more involved with it and stay longer.

7. People return to Web sites for the content. Most people return to a site because it provides useful information or entertainment. Consider which of those elements attracts viewers to your site.

8. Business Web sites must drive users to a specific action. A final sale is the obvious goal for an e-commerce site. But most Web sites are not commerce sites. Business-to-business marketers want to know who visited their site, so they ask for registrations. Other sites sell advertising, so they emphasize driving regular, returning traffic. Focusing on the goal will help you make decisions about content and design.

Finally, be prepared for the challenges of banner ads. If they're intrusive, they're usually despised. If they're not intrusive, they're largely ignored. Size and shape are often strictly limited, unless you can afford to take over the front page of a portal like Yahoo! or MSN. If your budget is limited, the success of your banner is dependent on the idea or concept to attract attention without annoying site visitors.

Delivering sharp copy and design requires a commitment to continual learning. Designing a site is not a one-time event. You must review it and update it regularly to keep it fresh and to keep up with new learning. Your site is the face of your brand. It can't be allowed to decline through neglect.

CA