Why should I worry about what text is on my website?

Writing text for websites is often an area of web design that is overlooked at the start of a website project. It is though, perhaps as important, if not more important, than the website design. If, for example, you have a brilliantly designed website but it contained little textual content that was not relevant to a visitor – the chances are that that visitor will not stick around to simply admire the design. “Content is king” is the saying – and so it is. Add great, well written text, to a well designed website and you are destined for success.

If the budget is available we would always recommend going to a professional copywriter – this is not always possible and so many of our clients opt to write the content themselves. This makes alot of sense from a budgeting point of view and also has other benefits because you will always know your target audience and business better than a third party ever will.

So – what is the best way to write content for your website? How do you start and what sort of things should you be thinking about as you go through the process. Also what format should this content be supplied to your designers in? These and more questions are answered in this article…

Where to start

From a branding perspective it might be best to start from the point of view of how you wish to be perceived by your target audience. If your company was a person, how would they speak? Would they be to the point and ‘businesslike’ – or maybe more friendly and jargon free? Setting the right “tone of voice” and writing style for your website should fit in with your overall brand message and placement. Maybe have a look at other companies’ websites which are trying to attract similar markets to see how they are presenting themselves in their web text.

If you are working with a design company such as Attitude Design, you will normally have a “site map” developed for you. This should be a diagram showing all the pages on your website and how they interact with each other.

Before getting into the nitty gritty it might be best to sit down with the site map and to decide what the purpose and function of each page is. Most pages will fall into the following categories:

• Information giving
• Selling
• Signing up / Applying / Enquiring

Each of these pages have different purposes and require different types of writing to fulfill those purposes. Each of these pages may also have different messages which your text will need to support. Have a think about each of your pages in the light of their purpose and maybe mark on your site map your general ideas so that when you get started with the text for that page you have an overall idea of where you are headed.

Humans vs Robots

Most of us are used to writing for humans in emails, letters, text messages etc. Websites, however, are not only visited by humans. There are search engines which have little programs (tenderly called “spiders” or “robots”) which will vist your site and collect the data they find there. They will store this data in the search engine’s database so that when someone searches for keywords, your site’s data will be considered in their algorithms. Depending on how your site does in the algorithm you will appear higher or lower in the organic rankings.

Appearing high in search engines is a powerful marketing tool. You can reach audiences of thousands who are all looking for your product or service so it’s worth writing the content for your website in a way search engine robots can read it and use it.

Writing for Humans

Writing content on websites is very different from writing to people you know. For example if you write an email to a friend or colleague, it is likely they will read every word you put down. This is not the case with websites. People “skim read”. If they are not engaged within a few seconds they will move away from your site to find a site which is relevant to what they are searching for.

Jacob Neilsen, a usability expert has a few articles based upon some in depth research as to how users read the content of web pages. It’s worth going through them to get a better understanding of exactly how website users read text:

• http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html
• http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
• http://www.useit.com/eyetracking/

So how do we write content on our websites which is most likely to get a result? Here are a few tips:

• Use subheadings. Because users will skim read, it’s a good idea to use subheadings so that they can find relevant content quickly.
• Be concise. Use bullet points, clear and simple language which is not long winded. Do not use slang, or technical jargon unless necessary. Try and include one concept per sentence.
• Front-load content. This means that you put the conclusion for what you are trying to say first. This helps users get a jist of what is on the page and hopefully it will capture their imagination. There is nothing worse then reading a few paragraphs and realizing the page you are on is completely irrelevant.
• Make sure it’s interesting. Ensure the text is relevant and doesn’t go “around the houses” to get to the point. Write in an interesting way which will engage your audience.

Writing for Robots

Any web designers with any wits will ensure that they code your site in a way which is search engine friendly. There are things which will be “invisible” to humans which will need to be in place to be successful – for example the content of the various tags in your page’s source code (title tags, keyword tags, description tags etc.) These should be in place as default and ideally you should also be able to edit the content of these tags and the content that appears on the page website yourself.

If you have a knowledge of HTML code you will be able to do this by hand. Most people do not have the time to worry about learning this complex language but there are other ways to edit this type of content without knowledge of HMTL. You will need a system to be built to allow you to do this called a “Content Management System” (CMS). It is a good idea to have such a system running your website because monitoring how your website’s pages are performing in search engines is an on going process which may mean continual updating to the site over time.

When a robot visits your website, it will look at the visible text and links on your page. From the words it finds there, the search engine will decide what your page is about and index its findings in its database. When a user searches that database the search engine will then feed your page into relevant searches. But how does it decide what your page is about?

One way is by looking at key phrases. For example if you have a particular phrase (like “hard wearing mouse mats”) repeated many times on the page then you are more likely to appear on a search engine for that phrase.

There are many other factors and each search engine differs in its algorithms but for the sake of this article we will give you a few tips on creating content which will help you to get higher in the search rankings. We would of course recommend you speak to professional SEO experts who can research what phrases or words would be best to include on each page of your website, as well as other strategies and techniques you could employ to gain higher rankings. A few general tips:

• Find a phrase. Consider what search engine users might type in as a search phrase/phrases to find the page.
• Use the phrase in your content. Ensure this phrase is used in the headings and content of the page. It might be an idea to repeat the phrase several times throughout the copy as well as in the main heading and sub-headings of the page.
• Use your meta tags. Add the phrases to your page title, description and keyword meta tags. You will need to do this through your CMS system or by coding the page with that information yourself.
• Use links. Add links in the body of your site to other pages within your website. This will encourage the search engine robot to crawl through these other pages of the site.

Conclusion

So – we hope this guide has been helpful. It’s all about balance and being aware of the different types of visitors to your site. Don’t go overboard with writing for humans and neglect the search engine robots – likewise don’t just write for robots and forget the humans! Get the balance right and you’ll have a great website!

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2. Time Machine / Website Designs from the 90s
3. New Galleries of Justice Museum Website Launched

1 // Produce a focused mini-website

Create a “mini site” for a special product or service your business is offering. This mini site should be focused – and where possible “fun”. Maybe use a flash animation or game to gather some interest and communicate in simple terms what the product is about. The benefits of a dedicated website for a specific product is that visitors get a target message. Be sure to link back to your main corporate website for users who wish to see more of your products. For examples of some mini-sites we have done see:  iWeekend  » Bonded Broadband »

2 // Produce an effective brochure

For many years businesses have been producing take away brochures for potential clients. Such a brochure should say all the right things about your business. It should look professional and be printed on good paper stock. It should be something your sales team is proud to leave behind and allow clients to flick through. It should be a “gift” to potential clients. You could also have it produced as a PDF for the web and allow visitors to your website to download it.

3 // Send out email newsletters

Add functionality to your website to allow users to add their email address to your mailing list. If this is set up to add the email addresses to a database you could also set up a admin area to enable you to send out emails to all the users who have signed up automatically. To take it a stage further get the emails to be designed specifically for your business in your brand style – this will ensure brand recognition. Be sure to allow users to unsubscribe if they do not want to receive further emails.

4 // Join in with Social Media

If your business is not connecting with people on Twitter or Facebook then they are missing out on a trick. Connecting on these platforms is useful because they are visited on a daily basis by users who might not visit your site at the same routine – thus you are getting more opportunities in reminding your client base about your business. If you have a blog why not set it up so that when you post a new article it automatically posts it on Twitter and Facebook – this will save your team time as they then won’t have to update each platform.

5 // Fresh logo design

A business needs to be recognizable. reconization Building a brand image is everything and allowing your clients and potential clients to recognize your business is essential for repeat and business. Acquiring a reputation is essential. Does your logo do this? Is it being used consistently? Does it need a refresh? A logo should be the emblem, the banner, that everything else sits behind. If you have products they also might benefit from having a logo design which sits underneath your main brand identity. This will bring them specific – this is especially useful if your products span different industries and target audiences as you can tailor the look and feel for each respectively.

6 // Bespoke christmas cards

With that time nearly upon us again it may be an idea to think about your company christmas cards. Why not commission a design agency to produce a Christmas card that says all the right things in an effective way. A bespoke Christmas card that stands out may ensure that customers see your business in anew light. How about taking your christmas card and making it more effective by running a promotion with it – something like: “To say thanks for working with us this year we offer 10% off of your next order”

7 // Consistent stationery design

Ensuring all of your stationery is consistent is good for recognition. For large businesses this can act as an extension of campaigns that are running and for small businesses it can acts as a campaign in its own right. Do your business cards and letter heads look like the come from the same company?

8 // Advertise effectively

Many small businesses don’t advertise because they don’t make the budget to do so. When they try it they only do it half heartedly and are not focused or targeted and when it doesn’t work they are normally put off by the whole idea. Try thinking about industries which use your services or products and advertise in their industry news magazines – or find out what your customers are reading and place adverts in those magazines. Ensure the advert is well designed with a clear message and call to action so that you can measure how well a campaign is doing.

9 // Let your vehicle signage work for you

Ensure your vehicle signage is effective. Your lorries and delivery vans should at least have your logo on them. You could look at making them effective adverts by adding well designed images and messages to them. A clear simple message that can be taken in in 3 seconds is ideal. Be sure to have an easy to remember call to action – a simple phone number or web address so that people who see them can write it down or memorize it quickly.

10 // Provide an incentive for people to refer you

Set up a referral marketing campaign. Offer a percentage of the first sale to anybody who recommends your business to someone. This inspires them to work as your agents without you having to do any further work! Advertise this within your brochures or on your website. Maybe even produce a leaflet for your sales team to give away on visits to potential clients.

Related posts:

1. Spot UV – Add class to your business cards
2. Attitude Design Accreditations

We came across these great YouTube videos from ehow and thought that our readers might benefit from them. We hope you find them useful and consider working with us to accomplish some of the ideas below. Enjoy!

How to Design a Business Logo

How to Make an Effective Brochure

How to Create a Marketing Plan

Business Design Tips : How to Design Personal Business Cards

How to Conduct Market Research

Related posts:

1. 10 Design & Marketing Ideas for Your Business
2. Attitude Twitter update for the week (2009-11-06)
3. Spot UV – Add class to your business cards

The Lost Levels ‘The Early Sheets’ from RadarMusicVideos on Vimeo.

The video is very inspiration and depicts the story of an old school computer game hero, escaping into a 3D world! It’s an interesting concept of how video games define eras and is put together exceptionally well. We hope you find it as inspirational as we did! Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Txt Island – Inspirational Creative Video
2. Attitude Twitter update for the week (2009-08-28)
3. Attitude Twitter update for the week (2009-06-12)

This article deals with the problem of message overload on the web and gives some reviews and advice as to the best ways to display your key message on your home page.

Multiple messages

The main complication that most businesses find themselves in is that they have multiple messages they wish to put across to their target audience. This normally leads to all of these messages being thrust into their home page website design – the outcome of which is that a website user has so many options and messages being pushed at them that they do not take in any and so press the “back” button of death and leave your website. If the researchers are right you have less than one second to convey your message to your website visitors. It is clear therefore that having lots of messages, all competing for space is not practical and can be detrimental.

The simple approach

The best thing to do is to try and formulate a list of your key messages. List them in order of priority – the priority in which you wish to present them to a website user. Once you have a list of priorities you can then apply them to your homepage design. You will notice in the website examples below that one singular message is being pushed above all others. It s given the priority, more space, and an image to communicate itself to the user. This message area will attract the most attention, but if it is not relevant to the user they will then look elsewhere on the page which is where the other messages come in. What is good about this technique is that the information is split up into bite sized chunks for the user to digest. The user is not bombarded by messages but will be able to take in the most important one. “Less is more” is a saying we could mention here!

Examples of clear messaging

Below are some examples of some successful websites who priorities their messaging and emphasize one simple message.

Apple

Boots

Next

Thorntons

Harrods

Flickr

If it works for these companies why not adopt this technique on your website.

The image

It is useful to note in most of the examples we have looked at so far, that images are also used to help assist the user in connecting with the key message being shown. For example if it’s a product which is given the priority – then a picture of the product is used. They say that “a pictures tells 1000 words” and so images therefore are very useful in engaging your audience and helping them to understand your message. Try and use relevant but engaging images which will attract attention.

The call to action

The call to action means the accompanying text which tells the user what to do about the message – it tells them what action to take. For example the message might be “save money today” and the call to action might be “click here to find out how” or “call us to find out how”. Your call to action also needs to be prominent and clear. For more advice on calls to action read our article Calls To Action – Click Here! »

Ability to update?

So, lets say you have designed your home page – added your message and launched your website. The message worked well for the first month or so but for some reason it is not attracting the interest it used to (you know this because you have website statistics like Google Analytics which tells you where users are clicking on a page). What could be the problem. Well in our experience it is normally because the message is stagnant. Users who revisit your website have already seen the message and after following the call to action, know it is not relevant for them any more. It is therefore important for this message to be updated and remain “up to date”.

Your website is your shop window – and like in retail it needs to be constantly updated to ensure visitors continue to be interested. More on this in this article: The New Shop Window / Home Pages That Sell »

If you already have a CMS (Content Management System) then you or your staff may be able to update your key message yourselves. If not then you may need to get a system in place (for a bit of a shameless plug – contact us »). Another way around it is by actually contacting your website designers and getting them to update it – this may cost you an hourly rate but it may reap great rewards. If you are busy, put a member of staff in charge of updating the site quarterly – it could keep your sales steady.

Conclusion

So – the message is – keep the message simple. Simplify and break down the information that you wish to give your audience and you will find that your homepage will be far more effective. Comments most welcome…

Related posts:

1. A guide to writing text for your website
2. 10 Design & Marketing Ideas for Your Business

In the video below, Steve Jobs (current CEO of Apple) talks about the designer who revamped the NeXt logo, Paul Rand. Its very interesting to hear what Steve Jobs has to say as he clearly see’s design as a business solution not as a simply a creative expression.

Sometimes design companies can loose sight of the client and their needs in a desire to express their style upon the end materials. Paul Rand put the client first above all artistic expression. The result of the process is here:

Paul Rand (August 15, 1914 – November 26, 1996) was a American designer who created many clever designs for logo’s and print. We have a lot of respect for his work and he is one of the most influential designers of modern times. Here are some examples of his work:

Paul Rand famously said this about logo’s:

A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign.
A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies.
A logo is rarely a description of a business.
A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes,
not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more
important than what it looks like.
The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.

We treat design here at Attitude Design in a similar way to how Steve Jobs portrays Paul Rand’s process. To be artistic is fine in it’s place, but design is about selling a service or a product. It has to portray key messages and depict the business behind the design, telling the audience what the company wants to say and not just what the design company want’s to do. Design is a solution, not simply an artistic expression, although that may come into the solution. Our business is making our clients business. Sadly this is not the focus of all quarters of the design community.

Find out more about Paul Rand here »

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1. Attitude Twitter update for the week (2009-06-12)
2. 10 Design & Marketing Ideas for Your Business
3. Spot UV – Add class to your business cards

The Best Designs

CSS Based

Design Shack

Inspiration Up

CSS Nature

Light On Dark

CSS Drive

Style Vault

CSS Beauty

Best Web Gallery

CSS Fresh Blend

Unmatched Style

CSS Season

We Love WP

CSS Case

Style Boost

CSS Envy

Design Snack

CSS Import

CSS Design Yorkshire

CSS Mania

Disclaimer: We are not attempting to take any credit for the above work – we have had nothing to do with any of them. If you have any questions regarding this please contact us.

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The effect above is created using Spot UV. “What on earth is Spot UV” we hear you cry! Spot UV is a print finishing expression which allows you to print an area of Ultra-Violet Coating onto your printed material. In English this means you can print a clear glossy vanish instead of an ink over a specific area.

This can be extremely effective and add that little bit of extra class to any print project!
It really is an attention grabber which catches the eye and helps to highlight key features of a design. It works especially well on business cards and in helping to differentiate your business above competitors. You never know, it could be the difference between winning a client and selling a product or missing out completely…

Want to know more or have us design something for you using Spot UV? Why not contact us »

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2. 5 Videos To Help You Market Your Business
3. Give Direction to Your Business

The animation below has been created by Chris Gavin of Tandem Films. Using only a retro signage board Chris has created this exciting adventure animation! It just shows that a creative concept can come from everyday materials. We hope you find it as inspirational as we here at Attitude Design have -enjoy:

Related posts:

1. Attitude Twitter update for the week (2009-06-05)
2. The Lost Levels – We love this video!
3. Inspirational Policing Pledge Posters

They are simple and the message clear. They are eye catching and allow the words to do the talking. Maybe this is everything required from a poster? We love the design and have posted it here for inspiration to our fellow designers. Enjoy.

The designs seem to us to be inspired by the famous “keep calm an carry on” world war 2 posters shown here:

Disclaimer: We are not attempting to take any credit for the above work – we have had nothing to do it’s production and it is displayed here purely for information to our viewers. If you have any questions regarding this please contact us.

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1. Time Machine / Perfume Ads from the 90s
2. Time Machine / Levi’s Ads in the 00ties
3. Time Machine / Cereal Boxes From the 70s

Marks are essential to any logo design – getting a powerful mark like the one above means that the concept of your logo can remain timeless even though it may be displayed differently with every re-brand which comes along…

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Matt Davies, our Creative Director and the founder of Attitude Design, has recently been interviewed by Junk Extreme – a web resource and tutorial website which aims to provide quality content around web-design related topics. A copy of this interview is displayed below or you can read it on Junk Extreme here »

How did you first get into design and how old where you when you first realised that you had an interest?

I have known I wanted to get into the creative industries ever since I can remember. I was always blessed with a natural drawing talent and growing up I was a keen painter. My father used to tell me that “an artist only ever makes any money from their art when they’re dead”! This led to the searching out of an industry where I could be creative and make money – the practical application of graphics had a massive appeal and so I want to college to study this.

From there I went straight into working for a design agency in London (The University of Life as I like to call it!). After a few years, a move to Nottingham, working full time for a few different companies, as well as gaining a lot of freelance experience, I set up Attitude Design as a proper agency in early 2008 – and we have been going from strength to strength ever since…

Your work is great, where do you get your inspiration for it?

Everything is an inspiration. From the phrases and conversations I overhear in a restaurant to the design magazines, to nature, to art galleries and design museums, to the usual websites set up to help stimulate us designers.

Have you ever hit a mental block when designing, and if so, how did you overcome this?

I often look at a combination of things to get ideas for a design – I am a subscriber to Creative Review so I often flick through back copies of this or go through a selection of design related books. I am also a frequent visitor to website showcases and I collect any leaflets or brochures that catch my eye – so going through those always helps.

If none of those things work, I often find a breath of fresh air and a 10 minute walk helps to clear my head!

What is the biggest challenge that you have faced during your design career?

Owww, that’s a tough one! I think starting Attitude Design up, managing a team of people and ensuring that client expectations are met and exceeded is tough. Making money and having fun is always a tough balance but I’m enjoying the challenge!

When given a blank canvas, what steps to do you take to create such stunning original work?

For me, design is all about purpose. It’s not about creating something that appeals to just me and not even necessarily just to the client – it is actually all about what will appeal to the target audience. So, I have a good read through the brief and the first step is to get my head into the mind of the target audience. What are they like? How old are they? What do they do on the weekends? Why would they be attracted to this design? What tangible emotional benefits will it bring them? Etc Etc.

Once I’ve got a few notes on this I’d then go and research the type of designs this audience would be comfortable with, and then start to gain ideas and sketches from this. This process normally allows you to see where a client’s current design style might be weak, or what aspects of their designs are positive – if they are a new client then it helps steer the project in the right direction.

An example of this process working well was when the team and I recently worked on Nottingham’s famous Galleries of Justice Museum rebrand [here] It soon became apparent, as we were entering into the mindset of their target audience, that their current branding and design style was way too bland and did not appeal – therefore when we started coming up with design ideas we made sure they addressed these points. The project was a massive success.
We work with a process of refinement. We start off with maybe three design ideas, all based upon the brief and research. We then send these to the client or present them. Based upon the client’s views we then refine and develop the ideas until a final design is born. I think it is important to work with clients as they will know their target audience way better than we ever will and so it’s important to have their input every step of the way.

Do you have any advice for new designers?

We often get new designers and students emailing us for advice. I always say to them – get a website – get your portfolio on the web. We are in the 21st Century and if you don’t have a website what are you doing with yourself! There is some advice on portfolios here.

I’d also advise them to dabble in a lot of medias. Being multi-disciplined makes you more employable and if you are creative and talented, it’s only a question of learning the software or coding language (HTML / CSS).
However on top of all of the above, the most important thing, I would suggest, is getting a good grasp on typography and grid layouts – these two things are at the heart of every design, so get them right and get them in your brain early on and you’ll stand more of a chance of success.

What program(s) do you use to create your work?

Hehe – this question should be “What program(s) DON’T you use to create your work?!” We use all sorts but I guess the main ones are the Adobe Creative Suite – containing Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. For the web we often hand code using TextWrangler. There is then animation and video packages, mostly we use Adobe Flash for this. Remember though – it’s not the program that makes a design – it’s the idea.

View other Matt Davies Interviews:

• DevLounge | Who’s behind the “Attitude” of Attitude Design? (From October 2006)
• Fadtastic – Interview with Matt Davies on Design Process (From August 2007)

Related posts:

1. Which city is the most creative? Nottingham?
2. 10 Design & Marketing Ideas for Your Business

Disclaimer: We are not attempting to take any credit for the above work – we have had nothing to do with any of them. If you have any questions regarding this please contact us.

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2. Time Machine / Cereal Boxes From the 70s
3. Time Machine / Perfume Ads from the 90s

Record cover designs defined the artist and had as much power to sell the record as the music itself. The designs were to reflect a mood, and a topic or an artist – they were an expression of the music held within. They define a period of graphic design which is well worth being inspired by. It gives us great pleasure to present some of the best record designs which have inspired us here at Attitude Design. Maybe you have a record cover which you love – why not leave a link to it in the comments at the end?

Related posts:

1. Time Machine / Website Designs from the 90s
2. Time Machine / Perfume Ads from the 90s

This handy guide, allows you to download these paper sizes as a PDF, print them out and pop them in your desk draw so that you have a quick reference to all the standard sizes. At last, a free paper size resource guide that isn’t web based! No more hunting around!

Download our paper size resource sheet as a PDF here » or see below – enjoy!

ISO 216/269 International Standard Paper Sizes

A Series (ISO 216)

ISO 216 is specification for the international standard paper sizes, ‘A Series’ and ‘B Series’. It is the standard which defines the A4 paper size.

B Series (ISO 216)

C Series (ISO 269)

ISO 269 is specification for the C series formats which are mainly used for envelopes.

Further Reading

• International standard paper sizes by Markus Kuhn
• ISO 216 by Wikipedia

Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure that these details are accurate we do not take any responsibility or liability for error. By downloading and using the PDF or the information on this page you agree that Attitude Design Ltd is not liable for errors.

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