As I was finishing installing Microsoft Office on my home PC, I was presented with this alert:
Read MoreWriting for the Web
The Importance of Links as Calls to Action
I enjoyed this conversion rate analysis by Dustin Curtis on the link he places at the bottom of his articles to his Twitter account. Read More
How Would You Link This Sentence?
Cameron Moll poses a great SimpleQuiz-style question on writing good links: Read More
Do Online Press Releases Serve a Useful Purpose?
In his article Press releases: spin and propaganda, Gerry McGovern recently railed against the practice of posting press releases on web sites, asking the question: Read More
Write Better: Online Readability Testing Tools Compared
There are a number of readability testing tools available on the web.
I was recently looking for a good online readability tool to use and as I was reviewing them I thought it would be helpful to write up my research. I found 12 tools worth checking out. My comparison of them is below.
I was especially interested to see how their results compared when analyzing the same text. I used the Gettysburg Address for my sample text (see “Conclusions” for some take aways).
Designers: Beware the Lure of Stylized Text
I happened to be browsing GE’s web site recently and was very taken with its clean, almost minimalist design. However, I was interested to note that the use of sIFR for their overview pages seemed to have an unintended negative consequence.
Read MoreUsing Cartoons to Get Your Message Across
I’ve been thinking about ways to educate my business stakeholders about what technology decision makers are looking for in web content. There’s lots of good research available, such as What Technology Buyers Want You to Know About Online Content.
Read MoreSure-Fire Way to Increase Click-Through-Rates, Downloads, Sales, Registrations, Sign-Ups, Etc
We all know that “click here” is perhaps the weakest of all calls-to-action, and should be banned from any good copywriter’s vocabulary.
However, coming in at a close second is “learn more”.
How to Design an Effective Sales Page
I recently reviewed the link checking tool Inspyder InSite. As I was checking my facts I was struck by how well designed the product page was from the standpoint of effectively selling a product online. Read More