Maintaining Your Focus

What’s the ultimate purpose of the company’s new website? Why are you having this thing put together at considerable cost, involving a great deal of time, effort and attention to detail?

If all you’re trying to do is keep your chief executive happy, making him or her look good online, massage their ego, then go right ahead. But wouldn’t it be better to convince the boss that the website is actually there to set the company apart from the competition, achieve better search engine rankings, create greater awareness of your products and services, and of course, make more money?

If the powers that be still insist on having one of those welcome messages or an introduction from the CEO about how he or she really cares, which could even be peppered with their favourite phrases such as ‘outstanding customer service’, ‘second to none’ or ‘the very latest technology’, try to put it somewhere else on the website other than the home page. Not actually hidden, but certainly not in a prominent position, maybe in the ‘About Us’ or ‘Meet the Team’ area of the site.

The home page is vital for the copywriter to be able to work their magic, so make sure that nothing interferes with the message you have displayed there. If you do it right, the boss will be happy, even if their picture and their opinions aren’t the first thing your visitors see.