Without becoming too technical there are three points to take into account before you begin to understand the secrets of writing effective website copy.

* The first is that more than three quarters of on-line readers scan the page instead of reading word-to-word like they would in a traditional print medium.

* The second point is that it takes 25% longer to read a computer screen than something written on paper.

* Finally, it’s generally accepted that web content should be half the word count of a paper equivalent.

Now, here are six steps to creating web content that will catch your visitor’s attention, keep them reading and preventing them from nodding off or simply clicking on to another site.

1)      Keep it neat and to the point: Don’t force visitors to scroll through miles of copy; use simple, to-the-point sentences; write straightforward “does what it says on the label” headlines; and make sure all facts are kept up-to-date.

2)      Use a designer: Its simple enough to put together a basic website yourself but the professionals can make it shine and add lots of eye-catching artwork. If you want to look the best, then employ the best.

3)      Good navigation: Lead visitors to other pages on your website with easily understood labels and headers. Keep it simple, too.

4)      Great scan: Because readers scan web copy, you need to catch their attention at every glance throughout the pages so include lots of highlighted keywords, bullet point lists, sub headers etc.

5)      Searchability: You hope that many visitors will come to your website via search engines so think about what words they will use to search you out. Ensure you use these keywords on your web pages. But don’t overdo it as Google doesn’t like keyword cheats.

6)      Proof reading: Get someone else to read over your copy to check for obvious mistakes, grammatical errors, spelling issues etc. A fresh pair of eyes is always a good idea.

Colour plays a significant role in all areas of life – including the design of websites.

It’s widely evidenced that colours influence feelings and emotions.

For example, red is associated with boldness and passion, while blue is often linked to feelings of calmness or authority.

So it is obvious that the right use of colour can be the route to attracting more visitors to a website.

Choose your website colours with care

Here are some common feelings associated with colours:

Red: passion, energy, excitement, power – but also, danger, aggression.

Orange: warm, friendly, energetic – but also, hippy.

Yellow: light, optimistic, happy, bright, rich, kinship, hope – but also, danger.

Green: nature, restful, wealthy, relaxed – but also, envy

Blue: cool, calm, natural, free, peace, trusted, strong – but also, sad, depressed, cool.

Purple: luxurious, royalty, wise, sophisticated – but also, a bit childish.

White: pure, honest, clean, innocent, fresh, spacious – but also plain and vacant.

Black: powerful, elegant – but also, gloomy, mysterious, dangerous

Grey: Sleek, chic, modern, reliable – but also, dull.

Brown: richness, comfortable, strong, credible, nature  – but also, dirty, poor

Pink: romantic, fun – but also, childish and overly girly

Tips for a colour-coded website

Contrast is important: It’s vital that visitors can read text so black writing on a white background is perfect. Black works well on paler shaded backgrounds, too, such as light blue. Use white text on a bold colour with caution in case of colour saturation.

Choose three colours and stick to them: Harmony and identity is good so go for a basic palette of only a few colours.

Natural not artificial: Bold, bright colours can be harsh on the eye, although primary colours work well with promotional style websites. Often, though, more natural hues are more inviting.

Old and young: As a general rule, younger people like bolder colours and older people prefer more sombre shades. So think about this if you’re creating a website for a particular age group.

Men and women: According to research men prefer blue and orange to red and yellow. Women like red more than blue and yellow more than orange. And don’t assume that all women like pink. Another survey showed that blue is a favourite colour for 57% of men and of 35% of women.

But what do you think? Does colour influence your attraction to a website and if so, which colours do you prefer? What colour combinations work for you, too?