some of the time). People will consume and pass along messages they grasp and relate

to—like a website their moms can use to buy environmentally friendly detergent.

Writing better copy for the Web

If there’s one axiom of global commerce, it’s that companies that cannot be understood

lose business. Ask any English-speaking businessperson traveling to France, Saudi Arabia,

or Japan; most figured out long ago that learning the native language was a significant

competitive advantage. On the Web, the axiom still applies. There is simply no point is

throwing mud into the water of language. Obfuscation kills communication.

The goal of your domain should be to open a dialog with a customer, prospect, or investor,

not intimidate them. This requires communicating in plain language, not hiding behind

opaque words, and is best accomplished by avoiding corporate speak and writing for your

target audience.

Avoiding corporate speak

Imagine walking into a pastry shop, asking for a Boston cream doughnut, and getting the

following response from the shopkeeper: “That particular confection, with its falsely his-

torical nomenclature of alternate-dessert elements and synergistic relationship with first

light beverages, presents a best-of-breed banquet that yields sweet savor from the first

morsel of brunette icing to the last swallow of golden cream. It is also currently out of

stock, but we’ve leveraged our advanced dessert replacement solutions to replenish the

inventory.”

You would probably leave. As you walked down the street looking for a Dunkin’ Donuts,

you’d wonder how that bakery ever stayed in business. Visiting any number of corporate

sites on the Web, you could easily wonder the same thing. Here are three fictional exam-

ples of typical corporate speak:

Example 1: “Although our software can be premises-based or deployed as a fully hosted

solution, we allow companies to automate and streamline processes, progress organiza-

tional efficiency, and concentrate on governance and compliance through the direct man-

agement and explicit control of content.”

Example 2: “A person-centric architecture is at the core of our products. Whether imple-

mented into an enterprise system or interfaced as a particularized solution, our laboratory

software offers unparalleled functional competence.”

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WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES