Writing for your web site is critical to its success
Over the past few decades, as Billups Design's lead copywriter, I have experienced many forms of copy strategy for web sites on the part of our clients. Some include too much copy for their audience which ultimately leads to reduced prospects. Others emphasize promotional over informational copy and fail to generate the trust necessary with their online customers to close a sale.
We've worked with these clients and others to shore up their messaging and adapt a strategy for their copy that adheres to some of the best practices on the web. As a short example, web site copy should be informational and concise, especially if your audience is under 25. Headlines and titles should quickly tell a visitor where they are and what the page will contain - not necessarily be lyrical like a newspaper headline.
(Again), Jakob Nielsen has put together a useful study and conclusion paper regarding the reading habits and expectations of web audiences. Read it at useit.com. Hueing your company materials to these solid guidelines will increase sales (R.O.I.) as effectively as many other web site options retailers pour over annually. It's great to see the web's most prolific thinkers giving credit where credit is due. Copywriting should never be the ugly step-sister of flashy imagery: it is an integral part of the engine that drives the sale.