Last week I received an email, which read:
"Yo bra, wassup? can you hook me up with da
vinyls dat I heard up in da club, they’re da bomb"
...
This message had nothing to do with underwear (bra),
plastic tupperware (vinyls) or even a threat to
national security (bomb), but it was a request for
records.
Whilst this slang MAY be understood by customers
and staff in a record store, to the average person,
it sounds like foreign language. And herein lies a
lesson that needs to be learnt. When designing your
website or any promotional material, make sure you
use language that all your customers understand.
If you are a web designer, forget about
impressing your customers by using big words such as
URL, Search Engines, Domain Name, HTML, etc. To you
it may be everyday language but to your potential
customers they are jargon. Some may even be
intimidated by it and rather than trying to work out
what you mean, they will leave your website.
"But if I am a web designer, how do I write my
copy without using these words?" The answer is
simple. Use the words, but explain what they mean.
You can either provide a simple explanation or
include a Dictionary/Encyclopaedia link on your
site, such as:
http://www.webopedia.com
http://whatis.techtarget.com/
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/computer
http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/index.html
To find out whether the information contained on
your website can easily be understood, show it to
your grandmother or the owner of a small business,
such as your local fruit shop, deli or laundromat.
If you see a blank look on their faces, you may need
to rework some of the copy. And don’t think just
because you are working for mid size businesses or
large corporations that the staff understand what
you are talking about. Many executives will run a
mile at the mention of the latest technology. So for
their sakes and yours, keep it simple.
Whilst, the majority of newspapers and magazines
write information so that it is understood by 10
year olds, giving your web copy to a young nephew
for revision will not work. He will most likely
understand the terms and may even teach you a thing
or two, but he is not your potential customer (not
yet).
Below is a list of words/phrases that you may use
in everyday language, but which may baffle some of
your customers. As an extra service for your
customers, you may find it worthwhile to include
these on your website:
Applet: A small but useful application
often serving just a single purpose.
Compression: Technology for minimising the
space a file occupies, to make it easier to store
and faster to transmit.
Client: Describes the receiving computer,
which calls information from a server or information
storage computer. A client is anything that
receives information - a desktop, notebook, handheld
or even a mobile phone.
Cookie: An applet sent by a website to
your computer to gather data about you, such as your
log-on details and where you surfed immediately
prior to coming to that site.
Cracker: Someone who taps into other
people’s computers in order to steal information or
do damage.
Cyberspace: Another word for the world of
the internet.
Domain name: A domain name locates an
entity on the net and has three parts:
(a) the www (the location of the host server),
(b) the organization identity and a suffix, which
indicates the purpose of the entity, such as ".com"
for a company or commercial enterprise, ".gov" for a
government body, ".edu" for an education institution
or ".org" for a non-profit body.
(c) other extensions identify the country in which
the domain is located, such as ".au" or ".nz".
Simple .com extensions signify that the domain was
registered in the US.
Download: Bring information from the net
to your computer
HTML (HyperText Markup Language): The code
used to create web pages. HTML tells the user’s
browser what the page should look like and how to
present the content.
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol): used
by a browser to seek web pages from a server.
Hyperlinks: Underlined links found in web
pages that will transport you to a related page
simply by clicking on them.
MP3: File format that will compress, store
and play music
Metatag: Keywords which describe the
content of a website, designed as hooks for a search
engine to bring people to that website.
Netizen: A citizen of the net.
Off-line: Not connected to the internet.
On-line: Connected to the internet.
POP (Point of Presence): The ISP (Internet
Service Provider) connection dial-in point.
POP-based Mail: Mail that is stored on the
ISP’s server until you download it. You can keep a
copy on your hard drive and view e-mails even when
you’re not connected.
Search Engine: Software tool for helping
you find useful, relevant information on-line.
Server: Computer that stores information
and forwards it on request to the “client”.
Shareware: Software issued on
try-before-you-buy basis.
TCP/IP: The protocol or set of
instructions used to ferry traffic across the
internet.
Upload: Send information from your
computer to the internet.
USB (Universal Serial Bus): a new
connection technology for adding peripherals, such
as a printer to your computer.
URL (Universal Resource Locator): a
website’s address.
Keep in mind, this rule does not only apply to
web designers, but every other business. So if you
are designing a website for a client and are
confused by the terminology, you may want to bring
it to their attention and help them rework the copy
so ALL their customers understand it.
About
the Author: Ivana Katz, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Ivana Katz is the owner of
Websites 4 Small & Growing Business, a company
specialising in the design and promotion of small
and growing business websites. She believes that
every business deserves to have a successful
website, no matter what its budget is.
info@web4business.com.au -
http://www.web4business.com.au
This article can be republished for free as long as
the author information and website links are
included.
