Top mistakes in Writing Web Pages

6 replies
Are you having trouble converting on your landing pages?

Do you suspect that your readers aren't getting the most out of your content?

Here are a few of the most common mistakes that people make when creating web content - this applies to articles, content marketing, landing pages, and any body of text that is meant for people to read.

1. Using long sentences - Depending on how you learned to write, you may have a big problem like this or not so much. Long sentences discourage the reader - they can be confusing, misleading or difficult to process and they usually end up as part of a long paragraph. I can guarantee that if you write a 3-line sentence, your readers aren't taking it in. If they are, they're thinking "what is this talking about?"

2. Using big paragraphs - You probably have your phone next to you right now. If I lose your attention for just a moment, you'll be on Tinder swiping right, scrolling through your timeline or playing Color Switch. The reality today is that people have very short attention spans. Short paragraphs that contain a concise idea are compelling. You want people to finish every sentence they start, so every word has to be precisely chosen to keep their attention and structured so you don't lose the reader.

3. Not breaking up text - Studies have shown that folks won't read through a long page of text searching for the information they want. If they realize that the page is too long, they'll start scrolling through looking for bullet points, key items or other information. Your job is to break up text into easy chunks and also to break it up with related multimedia, like quotes, videos, images, bullet points and other tools that deliver your content to readers in a better way.

Try out these few guidelines and I can guarantee that your landing pages will convert better. Keep your pages, paragraphs, and even sentences short and to the point. With concise messaging and compelling text, you're way more likely to capture the attention of your reader and convert a sale.
#mistakes #pages #top #web #writing
  • Profile picture of the author Haggy
    Is it better to write your blog as though you are talking to a friend?
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  • Profile picture of the author Will Iam
    Honestly, in my experience, it depends. A lot of blogs are similar to that and are focused on building a very direct relationship with the reader - you want the reader to feel like they are your buddy and they have a relationship with you. On the other hand, though, you can easily find a lot of successful and popular blogs that are based on providing information to readers, rather than just relating person experiences.

    I think there's a big distinction between a personal blog and a company/professional blog. You may want to educate your readers by writing in a different topic every week, but you may also want to build a relationship by writing a certain way.

    I think the tips I gave apply to most situations because the end goal is to have someone read your work and feel like they're being engaged.
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  • Profile picture of the author CabaMate
    I'd also say that these things also affect converting on landing pages:

    No clear call to action - this happens all the time and it's a deal breaker.

    The landing page is too busy - use a hero image people and keep it lean.

    Grammar and spelling mistakes and poor sentence structure that doesn't make sense.

    No offer / giveaway or hook - this is important and will get the sign ups.

    Takes too long to load - The loading time needs to be quick otherwise you've lost your viewer. It's important that this is a couple of seconds, no more otherwise it's a big mistake that's for sure.

    The rest you've suggested are fine, I think it also needs to be a good looking landing page that is well made and not patched together cheaply.
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  • Profile picture of the author Will Iam
    Caba, that's all great advice, I actually copied those pointers into my notepad for future reference. Do those guidelines apply to blogs as well? For example, if I want to sell through my blog, should I be treating my posts like landing pages and including a call to action? I don't want to stick a product in my readers face at every available opportunity, I think I want to offer a lot of content for free without any sales pressure and have people choose to buy a product at a later time.

    As far as landing pages go, I think we've come up with a pretty good set of guidelines. What do you think the ideal length might be? I've seen landers that are very long with multiple calls to action spread throughout the page, and I've seen short ones too, that are just a short page with a quick value proposition and call to action.
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  • Profile picture of the author Junaid khawaja
    Some of the common mistakes I have noticed through out the years:

    1. Using sentences like "One of the best" or "we are the best" type of B.S.
    2. Writing web content for a wide audience instead of narrowing it down. This is usually accompanied with lack of unique selling point.

    Talking about USPs, this is the most common mistake almost every service-providing company makes. (unless they have a marketing expert in their corner).

    For example, claiming "STORY THEMED COPYWRITING." is USP.
    "COPYWRITING SERVICES" is not.

    Junaid
    Signature

    I am conducting 5 FREE copy consultations till New Year...Jump onto my bandwagon while you still can..

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  • Profile picture of the author Will Iam
    Over the years I've become skeptical of anyone making claims that can't be true. I recently read an article about hiring SEO companies and one of the main points of advice was not to hire anyone that can guarantee first page ranking. It's insane to think that people are still making claims like this, but certain business owners want to believe these guarantees even though they may know that it can't possibly be true.

    You can't even say that you're the best because that implies knowing everything there is to know about the value provided by all of your competitors, so nobody can make that claim at all. I just looked it up and I saw that USP is unique selling point - that's very crucial. I'm actually going to revise some of my business marketing materials to reflect the unique selling point of my business.
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