The 10 Skills Needed to Build an Effective Website

Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – ‘tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

When it comes to your website and your online marketing, the right phrase or image can mean the difference between being ignored and closing the sale. Research shows that you have less than 3 seconds to make an impact once the user hits your website homepage. Therefore, each word is crucial – and what is omitted is often just as important as what is included.

Be sure the web development firm you choose can use language to create a message that resonates with your target consumers. Too often the people at web agencies that get tasked with writing copy aren’t professional writers and may have little to no marketing experience. If you’re looking to a web development firm to provide this service for you, ask to see samples of website copy written by the writer(s) that will be working on your project. It doesn’t matter if the agency’s Creative Director is a great writer is your copywriting project is going to be relegated to an intern.

Each word is crucial – and what is omitted is often just as important as what is included.

Also keep in mind how busy the average person is today. Few people have the time to read long blocks of text. Your copywriter should be able to convey your message in a few words as possible and can prescribe graphics or iconography to reduce the amount of text needed. Given that video has become a “must” for almost every website, your copywriter should also excel at developing copy for storyboards as well.