Spotted Wombat

I was recently  asked to critique a friend's website. I found the following 3 common home page errors. 

The home page had the title "Welcome to my site" in big letters across the top of the screen.

This was in the most prominent spot on her page. My fingers were itching to hit that back button. It told me nothing about the site, service or product. You've 3 seconds at most to capture your audience. Don't waste it with a welcome message.

The home page had a video, under the welcome message.

The video took a long time to load and was over 15 mins long. I still did not know what the site was about.

The home page had a long paragraph of text under the video.

She described herself and what she did. Aaah, then I knew. She sold educational aids for children with special needs. The paragraph was too long and the information about herself was irrelevant to her product. As a prospective client, I did not need to know what school she went to. I don't care. I do care about the quality of her product and her relevant expertise, though.

The above 3 common home page errors are often made when people try and add too much information into a limited space. The reality is, unless it is relevant to your service or product - NOBODY CARES!

Wordy thought for today:

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the alphabet and was developed by Western Union to test telex communications.

Spotted Wombat is a comprehensive copywriting service in Brisbane, Australia. We provide writing for brochures, newsletters, websites, articles, white papers, press or media releases, blogs or any other writing that enhances your business.