Sharon's Marketing Monthly      

Insightful ideas for maximizing your message

Proofread your Web site

Your company's Web site is a vital piece in your marketing communications effort. And it requires just as much attention to detail as your glossy brochures to be effective. But while printed pieces go through editing and press checks, Web sites are published willy nilly with all typos and broken links in place. And what impression does such a Web site make on your visitors? The same impression a sloppy brochure makes: That your company is not detail oriented; that you're willing to make do with inferior work; and that the same complacency might affect the way you treat your customers or build your products.

So what do you do about it? Proofread. If you think red pens and funny marks on paper are just for your printed marketing, think again. You must proofread your Web site too, even if it means printing it out and redlining it like an editor in the old days. And due to its interactive nature, proofreading your Web site means more than a typo hunt:

Keep it timely

You must keep your Web site up-to-date, or risk appearing as though your Web site is a victim of "out of sight, out of mind" marketing. Consider your press room: If you add press releases only once a year, maybe you should either do them more often, or bury the date so that the site visitor doesn't see right away how old it is. As a site visitor, I appreciate finding a "last updated on" notice or some other date that lets me know how current the information is. Otherwise, it's just plain ol' misinformation. Above all, keep your copyright date current. Please.

Is it working?

Error-proof the way your site works too. Look for 404 error pages, links that don't go to the right place, mailto: links to the wrong email address, or (as happened to me just last week) a registration page that asked me to register then sent me straight back to the home page instead of to the information I was trying to access. Check the site map to make sure it's up-to-date too.

The design

Look for errors in the design and behavior. Check that all headings, subheadings and text are consistent in font, size, color, etc. Make sure you don't have any awkward spacing. Check across pages for consistency of font types and sizes. Also be sure you haven't left anything out, like logos or contact information that's not part of the text. Make sure all your links work and that what you see on the screen is what you intended. Make sure the pages print correctly, and everything fits in the window even when the window is reduced in size. Above all, be sure the design and message are consistent throughout the site. You don't want a visitor thinking they clicked through to an entirely different site because the color scheme went from oranges to purples, for example.

With all the information we put online, and the ease with which we do it, our chance of errors is statistically higher with Web sites. To counteract any false impressions we might make as a result of those errors, we simply need to increase our messaging quality control too. The good news is, fixing a mistake on a Web site is much easier and cheaper than reprinting 5000 glossy brochures!

Until next month...

This month's challenge

Spend 30 minutes with your company's Web site and see how many errors-if any-you can find. Check for links that don't work (including mailto:), typos, inconsistencies, or navigation that doesn't make sense. Then fix all that stuff. If you find more than expected, make it a monthly task to spend 30 minutes doing this.

And now it's your turn

What Web site glitch annoys you the most? Email me your annoyance, and the best one gets published next month.

Recommended read for October

Hmmmm, I read "Counterintuitive Marketing" by Kevin Clancy and Peter Krieg, but hate to recommend it because it's somewhat academic. It could be called "Back to Basics Marketing," because it does take you back to the core of what marketing should be before you start buying ads and putting up Web sites. Consider it recommended if you're ready to put some time and effort into a strong foundation upon which to build all your other marketing efforts. I also read "Sandbox Wisdom" by Tom Asacker and was disappointed in that: too many sound bites and not enough actionable information. So here's hoping I enjoy my next books more! In the meantime, feel free to recommend your favorite marketing books.

Who is Sharon?

Sharon is the president of We Know Words, a sustainable marketing communications firm helping you connect with your past, present and potential customers. Being a woman of many opinions...and words...she writes the Marketing Monthly as a way to have her say. Besides, she loves newsletters.

What's up with the flower?

It's just us. Fresh, flourishing, cheerful...and it ties into our job: Helping clients grow their businesses through an effective mix of off- and on-line marketing. Besides, it's fun! Have you seen it plastered all over our Web site?