Web surfers are a savvy lot:-

• they scan a page in a single moment,

• they know just what they are looking for,

• and they are allergic to the hard sell approach.

However, they can be distracted from their initial goal and they can be influenced to act... when the information that you give is "massaged" into copy. Yes, this is a little sneaky, and no business will survive for long if they use these kind of sales techniques without also offering great products and services, excellent reliability and customer care and business integrity.

WRITING IT - Here is a useful checklist for when you are writing your copy for the web pages:-

• Use short sentences and short paragraphs
• Use the simplest words that describe what you mean accurately
• Use the language appropriate to your target market
• When you must use an abbreviation, an acronym or a phrase of jargon, always define the term in parentheses the first time you use it
• Remember that people surfing the web seldom have the patience to read long winded copy, so ensure that most of your pages are short
• Use headers and bullets points to aid scanning
• Long pages are appropriate for articles and when you are giving specialist information.
• On the whole its best not ever to scroll sideways and not to scroll down more than twice your usual page length.