Planning to launch or overhaul your website, but can’t figure out what software to use? If you want to take control of your website and its content, a Content Management System (CMS) might be for you. But what then should you look for in a CMS?

Features are an important element of the CMS selection process, but per an informative CMS article in Smashing Magazine, you should also consider items such as licensing, support, accessibility, security and training.

“Don’t let your list of requirements become a wish list,” warns author Paul Boag. “Keep your requirements to a minimum, but at the same time keep an eye on the future.”

You can go with the most popular CMS systems, such as Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress. Or, you can hire programmers to build a special custom-made CMS that specifically caters to your business model. Web information authority Alexa reveals most of the top 100,000 websites use custom CMS solutions.

Many web developers snub the general one-size-fits-all CMS route, but when open source communities offer you free and powerful solutions, it can be alluring. Perhaps, in rare circumstances, businesses don’t have to ‘pay to play’.

Your brand on the Web goes far beyond logos and colours. The digital experience your website provides visitors heavily shapes perception.

In fact, your brand is what your visitors talk about to friends, family and peers after they use your website, products or services. And it can be negative or positive.

The scary thing for businesses on and off the Web is that people tend to talk a lot more about negative experiences than the positive.

Consider all the times you’ve dined at restaurants. How many times have you or others around you complained to a manager? And now think about how many times you or the people at your table asked to speak to the manager to give praise?

Your online brand is created with every single click, image and word. So be sure to treat your visitors with respect.

At the end of the day, their perception is reality.

RegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the .Pro top-level domain (TLD) on the Internet, reported recently it has seen momentous growth in the total number of .pro domain name registrations, thanks to expanded eligibility guidelines.

.Pro domains comprise the first and only domain name extension catered to professionals and professional entities worldwide.

“We effectively made .pro available to tens of millions of professionals and entities worldwide,” said Catherine Sigmar, general manager of RegistryPro. “And, we have had some excellent partners like Network Solutions join us. Given Network Solutions’ position in the top echelon of registrars worldwide, they are in a unique position to maximize the penetration of the .Pro TLD.”

So, your shiny new website marketing copy is finally in place. Congratulations! Even better, that same marketing copy is starting to bring in business. (Must be all those precise keywords and cleverly phrased calls to action.)

Before you amortize your investment, consider how those carefully crafted words can work for your business in other places. Repurposing your website marketing copy will:

• Reinforce your brand identity
• Establish consistent messaging
• Increase customer recognition

It will also give you more than your money’s worth.

Here are 10 possible ways to repurpose your website marketing copy so it works overtime for your company, online and offline.

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Pepsi reportedly spent $1.2 billion over three years to give its products a facelift, including Pepsi’s new logo, which promotes the message ‘hope’.

It piggybacks on President Obama’s widely celebrated message of hope. And, per Michael Scherer’s article in Time, Pepsi’s hope messages are plastered throughout America’s capital.

Ironically, as the article reports, President Obama and his team are not necessarily fans of Pepsi.  They prefer Coke.

Perhaps Pepsi’s hoping the ads — created by Arnell — will steer Obama and his administration to “the new generation” of the colas.

Consumers suffer from information overload. Billboards, TV commercials, radio spots and direct mail were bad enough. Now we have to deal with the saturated Web.

Don’t waste your prospects’ time with loads of web content that’s not useful. Only provide your visitors content that’s to the point and relevant to their needs.

Is your web content concise and relevant?

Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes. Are you forcing them to dig through long-winded intros, self-absorbed messages or babbling paragraphs?

Make an effort to cut down your web content into digestible chunks. Kill unneeded words, and use short sentences and paragraphs.

Also, take advantage of headlines, which allow online readers to scan web content with ease.

When you make an effort to promote usability and readability on your website, it makes it easier for prospects to get the information they need. And they’ll reward you with phone calls and e-mails.

Well-versed web content writers know web users have short attention spans. In fact, some studies indicate your web content has less than a second to make an impression. It is doable if you understand your audience.

How do you get inside the heads of your audience? Figure out the answers to some key questions, including:

1. What do they want?

2. What do they fear?

3. What do they value?

Whether you’re developing web content, print brochures or radio ads, gain a deeper understanding of your target audience by going beneath the skin. It’ll help you deliver your message with impact.

I was asked today, “What defines effective web content?”

Effective web content is designed with the intended user in mind. It’s intuitive, logical, and fosters functionality. Effective web content allows online visitors to access information they want immediately. It promotes maximum searchability and minimum download time. It anticipates users’ information requests. It gets your desired actions completed.

Just remember, on the Web, less is more. So keep your web content simple.

When it comes to web content, many business owners believe they can accomplish everything a professional web copywriter can — and more. However, when business owners attempt to write their own web copy, it often leads to frustration, lost time and missed opportunities.

In fact, many businesses come to Webcopyplus looking for a web copywriter after struggling to complete their web content for weeks, sometimes months. In the interim, they get their web designers to upload their old web content, or just put the project on hold. Regardless, the final outcome is usually substandard.

Since web copy development often causes designers major hassles and delays, it’s baffling to find web designers who simply don’t grasp and appreciate the value a well-versed web copywriter can bring to a project.

An article written by a Maine web designer was recently brought to my attention, in which she stated (verbatim):

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Lacking inspiration for your latest website design? Escape from reality, and fuse fantasy and technology by looking to these intoxicating Sci-Fi TV shows:

10. Buck Rogers

Paint on some spandex and help Buck Rogers solve some of earth’s dilemmas, like clients who continue to insist on music-filled Flash intros.

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