Sin #5

Poor Spelling And Grammar

We all make mistakes when we write things down or type things out. Nobody is 100% perfect but a huge number of website owners completely ignore the basics of spelling and grammar.

If you're selling a product or service online and your website is littered with spelling and grammar mistakes you're losing sales. Plain and simple. You don't need a masters degree in English but poor spelling puts people off. From a visitors point of view if you couldn't be bothered spellchecking your website then how good can your product really be?

Here's 4 tips for proofreading your website.

1. Use a spellchecker. Every word processor has one. If you don't have a spellcheker then get one.

2. Proofread anything you write from bottom to top. You'll spot more mistakes that way.

3. Print out important documents and edit them with a pen. Again read from bottom to top when doing so.

4. When you've written an important article put it away for 24 hours. Proofreading it the next day gives you a fresh perspective on your own writing and I guarantee that you'll make improvements on your original text.

Sin #6

Flashing And Spinning Graphic Elements

Banners or logos that flash, spin, fade in and out or perform any other gimmick are a major No No. Don't use them.

Flashing banners and logos say "Look look mom it's my first website! Cool, huh?" It screamsl unprofessional at anybody looking at your site.

Any website with this type of graphic element turns visitors off. A website logo or banner should be a static graphic or text element on the page. Online marketing surveys consistently report that animated icons and graphics on a website do not convey professionalism to visitors.

Sin #7

Hit counters

Only used by amateurs. Take them off your website. Please. Any decent webhost can provide you with traffic stats which will provide much more accurate information than a hit counter ever could.

Having a hit counter on your website was a good idea 8 years ago. The online world has moved on. You should too.

Sin #8

Use Their Own Language

The reading ability of the average website surfer is in or around highschool level. If you're the next Shakespeare that's fine just don't force your visitors to read through mountains of prose that confuses them. Speak to your visitors as you'd expect they speak to each other.

Your website content needs to follow the model of TV adverts. Short and snappy. Use catchy writing. Write to be remembered. Write to entertain. Put yourself in the shoes of the surfer. What type of language and slang would they expect to find on your site. Then simply use their own language.

There's an old rule of sales:

"If I could see through John Smiths eyes I could sell John Smith what

John Smith buys".

Design your website for your visitors and not for you.