Quick Links: Home > MerchantNewz Article Archive > ...

Making Your First Impression
By: James Cole, Perfect Impressions

Everyone knows the power of the first impression. You've
taken this into consideration when you developed your
website. You've also heard about how the typical Internet
user only visits a few sites each week, and that many times
they are referred to new sites by word of mouth. Now think
about your website and ask yourself if it is perfect.

Is there anything on your website that would reflect poorly on
your business? Your important message will be immediately
overshadowed by typographical errors, poor grammar,
unprofessional writing, broken links, or missing images . One
of the most important steps that you can take to ensure the
success of your business is to thoroughly edit and proofread
your website.

Naturally we are all very careful when we are writing or
designing web pages, but mistakes do happen. If you write
and produce your own web pages you should always have a
second set of eyes checking your work. Even if you have a
professional web designer or agency handle your site you
can't be one hundred percent sure that everything is perfect.

One thing people rely on to help them proofread is a Spell
Check program. This can be a very dangerous thing to do.
Spell Check catches some obvious mistakes, but it leaves
you with a false sense of security. Worse, it actually lets you
make mistakes! Even when everything is spelled properly
you can end up with the wrong form of the word. There is a
huge difference between "Our weather has been great." and
"Hour whether has bean grate."

Depending on your needs, there are several ways you can
ensure the quality of your website. If you run a larger site
with a lot of content you might consider hiring a freelance
editor or copywriter. While this is probably the best option,
you have to have the budget for it. A more affordable option
is to hire a college or university student, preferably one who
is majoring in English or some similar track. If you have no
budget at all you can ask friends, family or business
associates to review your site, if they don't mind. No matter
how you do it, just make sure you're not the one making the
final judgment.

You might recall that in the earlier days of the Web, sites
often had a link used to report problems to the webmaster.
You don't see this much anymore, if at all. The fact is that
people now know how unwise it is to risk making a bad first
impression. You've never seen a printed brochure or catalog
that has a disclaimer stating "If you see any typos in our
catalog, please give us a call." have you?

Now let's remember the Internet user who only goes to a few
sites each week. Will your site give them any reason to click
away immediately? Will you earn the word of mouth referral?
Will your site truly reflect the quality of your business? By
carefully editing and proofreading your website, you can be
confident that your site will help your business succeed.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Article by James Cole of Perfect Impressions
You never get a second chance to make a First Impression
Perfect Impressions offers affordable website editing,
proofreading and writing services.
Visit us now at http://www.perfect-impression.com