By Colby Horton
Shop Site of the Month
Larry's Autoworks - Mountain View, Calif.
www.autoworks.com
This site uses a unique and entertaining navigation device. Information is presented in a concise and easy-to-find manner. Customers can make an appointment online, establish a personal car care page and enter an online sweepstakes. Motorist tips, shop credentials and customer testimonials make this site informative and professional-looking.
Web Wise
Writing for the Web
So you've designed a great looking, professional-grade Web site. You're ready to live with it, right? More importantly, you're ready to bring in that influx of new customers and repair their vehicles in the most dependable way possible. Before you upload that first page of your new Web site, check your writing. It says a lot about your attention to details and could be the difference in making a new customer.
You don't have to be a great writer to write for the Web. When we create a Web site, we sometimes get so caught up in our business, services and philosophy that we forget about the customer's perspective. Keep the following three items in mind when you're creating text for your Web site.
The Internet is a fast-paced medium. When customers visit your Web site, they don't want to necessarily read every word you have written, but want to find your main ideas quickly and efficiently. Use headers throughout long copy. If you have a link to "About Us" with several paragraphs describing your business, break up the paragraphs with descriptive headlines such as "Company History," "Business Philosophy" and "Affiliations."
Keep copy short. Try and write copy that is meant to be skimmed and not necessarily read word for word. Unfortunately, the more words you have on a page, the more likely a customer or potential customer will surf elsewhere.
Studies show most Internet users simply skim a Web page. Therefore, direct readers' attention to your main points by using bullets. Bullet lists are pleasing to the eye and can be used to captivate your audience and focus them in on certain points of interest.
When writing for the Web, one element cannot be emphasized enough - check your spelling. You're portraying your business in a high-tech, professional setting on the Web. Spelling errors constitute a sentiment of inattention to details. Good Web authoring software should have a spell check already installed. Take advantage of this feature to its full extent.
Before launching your site, try to visit each section and judge it not as the shop owner, but as a potential visitor. Did you find the information you were seeking? Was the text easy to read and formatted in a way that was appealing to the eye? Is your Web site free of spelling errors? Only when you've looked at the site through the eyes of your visitors are you ready to establish a successful Internet presence.
Net Numbers
According to a Web site maintenance company, 46 percent of Web users have left a Web site because of site-related problems such as broken links, slow load time and spelling errors.
A to Z Web Site Solutions
ASA Web Ways
ASA Provides Shop Web Pages for Members
A shop Web page is one of the best ways for you to inform your customers of shop hours, locations, specialties and certifications. ASA can help you get your shop online. For $75, all ASA national members can have ASA design a Web page for their shop. This one-time fee includes storage of the page on ASA's Web server as long as the member remains in good standing with the association. For more information, go to the ASA Web site (www.asashop.org) and click on "Member Benefits," or e-mail the request to colbyh@asashop.org.
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Net Worth is written by Colby Horton, ASA's electronic communications manager. He can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 234, or by e-mail at colbyh@asashop.org.
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