Don’t say it all: How to keep visitors on your website

If your website showed up at a networking function, would it be the babbling patron that you try to avoid, or would it be the articulate one from whom you walk away knowing exactly what their business delivers?

A common mistake businesses make online is writing too much content on their websites. A clear and concise message conveys professional appeal and, inadvertently, says a lot about how you do business. The content on your website should be articulate and user friendly, or you risk losing your audience.

Visiting a website is a multi-sensory task: we are not only reading the content, but taking in the design, and the moving parts, including video, and images. The next time you update your website, assess and critique the following about your design and content qualities:

DESIGN
The white space is as important as the words. The design and physical appearance of your website can either coax your visitor to stay and explore, or overwhelm them enough to click away. If you land on a page with a wall of content, do you read it?

Make it scannable. Present your content knowing that, in general, people read the first couple of lines and then move on. To make content scannable:

• Chunk text
• Use bullets
• Leave spaces between paragraphs

Make navigation intuitive. Stick to some of the conventions that make websites easy to use.

• Put your logo in the upper right or left corner of the home page, or somewhere  instantly visible;
• Make your contact information easy to find; 
• Use intuitive names in your menu so that visitors don’t have to search the entire website to find what they are looking for.

CONTENT
Write headlines that can stand alone and still make sense. Provide meaningful headlines and subheads that summarize the key points of the page’s content or paragraph.

Don’t overstate the message. Be concise and say what you need to say in as few words as possible. Paragraphs should be 2-3 sentences, with no more than three paragraphs on one page.

• Write one idea per paragraph.
• Aim for 20 words per sentence.

Put the most important information first. Better still, put only the most important information on the website:

• Eliminate the non-objective writing and promotional language.
• Answer the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of your business first.

Use images and video to support content. Images and video provide reading relief and are another way for visitors to gather the information they need to make a decision about using your product or service.

Write the content, and then cut it in half. If you have to scroll to read what is on your home page, it is too long.

Knowing your key messages before starting the writing for your website will help you stick to the point. The same way a writer has to let go of their “gems” if the editor deems the phrase, paragraph, or page of prose not relevant enough to stay, businesses have a similar lesson to learn: It is best not to say it all.