by Gordon Graham and Manuel Gordon

Are you or your technical writing firm still struggling to get on the Web? Wondering what other companies do?

Here are 10 tips we discovered over the past four+ years of developing our own site. These insights were confirmed by our research for a presentation we delivered at the STC Chicago Conference.

Remember: these tips apply to Web sites for technical writing companies, not the sites for our clients.

1. Do it yourself.
You should know enough HTML, information design, and project management to make your site a showcase for your skills. If not, doing your own site will force you to learn.

2. Provide useful information.
Provide all the information that potential customers need about your company. Make sure to answer the basic questions: who, what, where and how you do business. Also provide a few pages with handy ideas, tips and perspectives. Hint: you're reading one now!

3. Show what you do.
Structure your site around your services and products. You can show a portfolio by linking to PDFs and Web content you wrote for clients.

4. Be specific.
Some technical communication companies claim to do every type of document, in every language on earth. Such grandiose claims lacks substance. We all have our strengths. Focus on yours as you position your firm.

5. Be transparent.
Be yourself. Don't pretend to be something you're not. Don't pretend to be bigger than you really are. Remember the song used in those beer ads for years:
"Say what you mean, mean what you say...
Be yourself in this world of today."

6. Name names.
Name your key people. Name your clients. Communication is a "people" business. No technical communication firm is a mega-corporation... there's nothing wrong with being a 1- or 2-person firm.

7. Show your face.
Put a face to your names. Photos add a personal touch in an impersonal world. This may seem risky, but we believe the benefits far outweigh any risks.

8. Cross-sell related items.
Create a "virtuous circle" where everything you do reinforces everything else you do. Many companies sell writing, consulting and training. Some sell their own writing-related products, as we do. Bring it all together on your site.

9. Make every page a brochure.
Your clients often print Web pages. Every page must print right, be bookmark-able, give your contact information, and reinforce your branding.

Notice how every page of the Gordon & Gordon Web site includes our logo and positioning statement at the top and how to reach us at the bottom.

10. Look competent.
Your site must be easy to read with absolutely no tolerance for typos. All the HTML and links must work. Navigation must be simple. Above all, your site must be usable!

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© 1999-2009
by Manuel Gordon
& Gordon Graham

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