Visual Language

I still remember watching the Little Mermaid when I was a kid. I remember watching as Ursula convinced Ariel that all she needed to communication was a little “body language.” Of course, body language actually worked.

There’s more than one way to communicate with your audience, and often the visual language can be more important than the written language. People decide whether or not to trust you before they ever start reading a story. Your web site sends a message before your words do.

Have you ever noticed that sites in a similar category tend to look like each other? Internet marketing sites all have one giant scroll column. Tabloid sites have giant headline text and flashing pictures. Web 2.0 services have puffy logotype and love to use blue.

All of these things help tell a user instantly what type of site they’re on. Think long and hard about what kind of site you want to be, and make sure you look like it. Otherwise, growing your audience is going to be an uphill battle.