Speak your customers' language

Is your website all 'me, me, me'? If you want people to read it, concentrate on looking at things from your customers' point of view. Less 'we're so great and you'll love us'. More 'you can do amazing things with our products'.

Look professional

Is your website clear and easy to read? If not, people won't even try. If your sentences are muddled, your spellings dodgy or your pages littered with typos, they'll think you're unprofessional. And they won't be keen to work with you.

Try these proofreading tips to make sure you don't make embarrassing mistakes.

Get to the point

Reading on-line is different from reading print – people are much less tolerant of waffle and hyperbole and more keen to get to the point. Mostly people just skim read, so keep it clear and concise.

Check the words are clear

• Ask yourself if the words seem natural? Do they sound like the way you speak, or do they sound as though they're delivered by a corporate drone, full of business-speak and buzz words?
• Read it out loud. If you stop and stumble, run out of breath or feel embarrassed by the words you're saying, rewrite it.
• Give it to someone else to read. Do they understand it? Ask a customer for their opinion.

Quick tips on how to write clearly

Avoid words that send people running

Avoid marketing hype and cliché, waffle, corporate language, business-speak, buzz words. All guaranteed to make people switch off, fast.

Be consistent

Where did your website words come from? If you cobbled them together from various printed materials, they may not create the impression you'd like. (Sorry to be blunt, but you know what I mean).

A variety of contributions from different sources may well give you a hotch potch of styles and repetition. For easy reading, stick to a consistent style and tone throughout.

Keep people interested

Add informative stuff – helpful hints, practical information, tips, a blog, industry news.