European web designers are churning out poor text legibility, unclear menus and confusing task flows, reveals a recent study by Forrester Research.

Nine top European web design agencies offered two of their best reference sites to the research group for rigorous review. Forrester reported it was surprised at the blunders, which it stated “are all well-researched usability problems, often with known solutions.”

The research group went on to state: “Customer experience experts can fix these problems by simply applying scenario design principles and better standards for text fonts and sizes, and by using web analytics to identify task-flow problem spots.”

The principles of design govern how elements, including balance, scale, proportion and contrast, are arranged on a website.

Many issues, such as small, unreadable fonts, are certainly widespread on the Web. However, these problems should become less common as more web types become specialized and improve their skills, and overall web standards naturally progress as a result of competitive pressures.

Fortunately, usability professionals are spreading the good word: simply creating content is not sufficient. Website content needs to be well planned, executed and delivered to drive sales, service, productivity and image.

Quality content creates value, generates results and builds success. Poor web content spawns failure.

Webcopyplus recently conducted a web poll that asked 215 website owners: Who typically writes your web copy?

The results:

1. I do it myself 74.9% (161)
2. Web designer 12.1% (26)
3. Staff 7% (15)
4. Copywriter 6% (13)

These numbers reveal why the majority of web content is so hyped up, convoluted and difficult to digest.

I do it myself
Business owners know their businesses, but it’s difficult to objectively capture and clearly convey your own unique selling points. And even if you do, basic copywriting elements are frequently missed, including scannable text, calls to action and proper meta tags, to name a few. Most business owners who write their own copy do it in a bid to save money, when they’d probably be better off delegating it and focusing on their core business.

Web designer
Web designers out-write copywriters two-to-one. That’s frightening. It’s not that web designers can’t write. But web designers are trained in the language of design, not communication with words. Expand the role to include programming and you are dealing with a jack of all trades, which translates to mediocre work and comparable results.

Staff
Even when employees are keen to take on web writing projects, companies miss opportunities at the hands of inexperienced and non-specialized communicators. Businesses get a better ROI when they hire a specialist to write web copy and have internal staff conduct updates as required.

Copywriter
The land of copywriters is diverse. You have hackers around the globe selling their services on Craig’s List for as little as $2 a page, but caveat emptor. The end product and results reflect the bargain basement price. Even those who present themselves as medium-tier web copywriters can be suspect. Webcopyplus recently took over an account from a writer who claimed we were “bs’ing” the client that there’s a direct correlation between web copy and search engine results. Sadly, clients at the hands of the uninformed don’t enjoy the Web’s true potential.

That brings to light the silver lining of these poll results: if you’re a business owner, it’s not too difficult to get a leg up on your competitors.

Many valuable writing resources are out there, including The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.

While revisiting this classic, which was originally published in 1918, I was amused by the manner in which writers are encouraged to revise and rewrite their prose:

“Quite often the writer will discover, on examining the completed work, that there are serious flaws in the arrangement of material, calling for transpositions. When this is the case, he can save himself much labor and time by using by using scissors on his manuscript, cutting it to pieces and fitting the pieces together in a better order.”

It makes one appreciate the convenient tools of today: ergonomic keyboards; large, adjustable monitors; fast and friendly document software; spell check; cut and paste features; and so much more.

The concept of a typewriter dates back to 1714, with the first practical one launched by Remington Arms in 1873. While some writers stick to their traditional equipment – such as novelist Danielle Steele, who devotedly uses a 1946 Olympian – fewer and fewer young adults in today’s workforce have come in contact with these trusty machines. May they rest in peace.