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<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do know your audience</font></strong> It's important to know your audience. If you write for a site that sells toys you'll use other words, colors, images etc. compared to a site for online banking. Write and design with your visitors in mind. Don't get tempted to write for yourself.

<strong><font COLOR="#FF0000">Don't use meaningless words</font></strong> Do you have a cool site with hot subjects? Or a hot site with cool subjects? On some hype-sensitive sites these kind of words might be useful but on most sites you'd better refrain from meaningless words.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do write about the subject</font></strong> Write about the subject. Saying: This page is about breeding goldfish talks about the page. Instead, start right away with the subject. Breeding goldfish is a popular hobby....

<strong><font COLOR="#FF0000">Don't use jargon</font></strong> Avoid jargon. That goes for Internet jargon but also for jargon for any other subject. Only if your site is focused on a selective group of specialists jargon might make sense.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do use short sentences</font></strong> Use short sentences. The World Wide Web is fast. Your visitors want to get your info in a snap. So read and reread your text. Then cut out as many unnecessary words as possible.

<strong><font COLOR="#FF0000">Don't write technical</font></strong> Don't write technical. Your visitors don't care how you created your site and that you prefer Perl over TCL/TK (or the other way around). Instead write about your subject.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do use correct spelling</font></strong> OK, this one will turn against me.... Use correct English or whatever language your site is written in. As a standard routine use a spelling checker but don't rely completely on it. Human proof reading is necessary. This can be difficult - especially if you're not native speaking English.

<strong><font COLOR="#FF0000">Don't show any page under construction</font></strong> Don't publish a page that's under construction. People will hate you if you do. If the page isn't finished, it's not ready to be published. In a sense most pages are always under construction because they are updated (more or less) frequently.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do use the first screen</font></strong> Be sure to put important text on the first part of your page, the part that will show up first on a screen.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do present the issues right away</font></strong> Your visitor wants to know immediately what she/he can find on your site. Keep that in mind when designing your site. Present the important issue(s) of your site on the first page.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do use a descriptive title</font></strong> The text for the tag "TITLE" should be descriptive. The title shows up in the results of search engines. A descriptive title makes clear what people can expect on your site. The title is also shown in the history list of browsers.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do use small pages</font></strong> The World Wide Web is not a book. People don't read it sequentially. They want to select a small piece of info and decide what info they want to read next. So you should provide small pages. Cut long pages in pieces and connect them through hyperlinks.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do use implicit text for your links</font></strong> Phrases like Click here or Check this link distract from the content and are to be avoided. Try to write your text in such a way that a link is a natural part of the sentence. Instead of Cyber Logic Host™ :: Cheap Web Hosting, domain registration Click here to visit it; try to write something like Cyber Logic Host™ :: Cheap Web Hosting, domain registration.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do update your pages</font></strong> Be sure to check your pages on a regular base and to update them if necessary.

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do show date of update</font></strong> You update your pages on a regular basis. Don't you? Make clear to your visitors how recent or (out-)dated your information is. Provide the date of the last update. And don't forget to change the date if you change a page...

<strong><font COLOR="#009900">Do ask for feedback</font></strong> You can learn from your visitors. Ask for their feedback and give them an e-mail address to reach you.

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