September 13, 2009 by Matt Thomas
#3. House Style
Another thing to remember is house style. It may seem like a chore but you really do need to sit down at some point and decide what kind of style you’re going for, is it friendly and informal or corporate and professional, there’s nothing more jarring than reading dry professional facts and figures on one page and informal, matey copy on the next. Also decide on the site’s interpretation of grammar and stick to it – does internet have a capital I? Do we use colons or dashes for definitions? This is all stuff that needs to be worked out in order to maintain a consistent tone.
The reason this is so important is that the internet can allow you to appear to be anything you want to be. It can be a great tool for presenting your business as a larger, more established company than you in fact are. However, web users are not ignorant of this fact and will be alert to any sign that you are punching above your weight. A great clue that you are a just small organisation with a good website is the use amateurish, inconsistent copy that would never be allowed within a hundred miles of a big organisation’s website… So don’t put it onto yours.
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