According to an interview with Kelly Goto, author of Web ReDesign 3.0: Workflow that Works, the three most common website re-design mistakes are:
- Failing to hire someone specifically to write the content.
- Not having a clearly defined brand vision.
- Having no, or inefficient, specific, measurable goals.
It never ceases to amaze me how a company can spend a fortune on flash design but pay little regard to the actual content.
While a flash intro page is often pretty to look at, search engine spiders usually just pass it by. Yet if that page was full of relevant, quality copy, they would no doubt pick up keywords and phrases and rank them in the engines.
You really can’t put a high enough monetary value on good writing. To get that, you have to either have or hire someone with the necessary experience and skills. This applies whether you are creating a website from scratch or revamping an existing one.
One essential tip for creating effective content is to imagine your ideal customer saying, So what? and What’s in it for me? As you write, be sure to answer both.
