Website approach.

[Bumbadum]

Hey guys.

I've been working on my website for the last while and it's almost ready to rumble into the big bad world; i'm just agonising over a little thing which I can't decide on so was hoping you awesome dudes could offer some guidance.

As i've been browsing around on the web looking for ideas to shamelessly plagarise, i've noticed two very different approaches to proofreading type sites. One being the "Hi i'm Dave and this is my proofreading site - www.davejones.com" approach, and the other being the "This is copyediting4u, we (actually there's only one of we, a guy called Dave) wear suits and are very professional and stuff" angle.

The thing is, I can't quite seem to decide which of these approaches to take, as both seem to have their ups and downs and neither is "better", they're just different. One is all business, sharp dressed men using tinted blue apple macs in minimalist offices, and the other is a cup of tea by the fireplace in a dressing gown with a cat on your lap. The cosy and homely personal approach is definitely more "me" but I can't help but feel like i'm running a business here and so I should damn well act like it.

I've written copy for my site for both eventualities and am still none the wiser.

I was wondering if any of you guys had come to a similar milestone and had any issues with it, or what your mentality was in choosing your approach.

Thanks all.

Greg.

[d a v e]

Combine the two - if that's who you are. You can still make it look professional but feel personal. A link you your site so far might tease out more refinements that you could make

[All Write..?]

Hi Bumbadum/Greg

I agree with Dave - it can look professional, but feel personal...

Personally it was important that I had a friendly, relaxed approach, but that my site still looked professional. For me, once I had completed my home page the rest flowed quite easily. It took me a long time to complete, but I found that writing the text before committing it to PC helped because I could then concentrate on designing the website.

Having created my 'look' then made it easy to design letterheaded paper, business cards, address labels and flyers to suit and All Write..? was born...!

It will all come together and feel right when you are happy with what you've done...

Let us check it out when you're ready!

Shazza

[d a v e]

Er, Shazza, you have a small typo on your references page for SOS Children:

"We are small team that regularly produces informative material for our donors so that they can connect with our projects worldwide. "

should be

"We are a small team that regularly produces informative material for our donors so that they can connect with our projects worldwide. "

[All Write..?]

Thanks Dave It was not written by myself, and I was soooo excited to put it on the site that I just copied it from the email...!!

I'm pleased to know that you've been checking my site out!

Shazza

[gpuss]

You might find yourself dealing with different clients depending on your approach. The pipe and slippers approach will endear you to authors and publishers looking for a solid, dependable and thorough service to proofread books, whereas the more modern approach will make you look more like you're aiming to service designers, web developers etc., dealing with smaller jobs with tight deadlines working every hour god sends. So I think it does make a difference.

The advantage with using a more corporate name is that if you expand, take on another reader or collaborate with someone, you don't have to change it when having a single name might not seem appropriate. There are occasions when clients could overlook you if they think you're on your own, as they might want to give you a large job with a short deadline that would necessitate many eyes.

Most importantly, think long term. When I though of the name Grammourpuss it really did seem like a good idea, but after about six months, a website, stationery and 25,000 pairs of branded Y-fronts I started to hate it. When I started copywriting and ghostwriting, it started to seem wholly inappropriate - grammar is not the main skill here. But as you may have noticed, I'm sort of stuck with it now. The ranking on Google and all the networks I'm involved with are far too important to throw away, as would happen if I re-branded, my not being Coca Cola and all that ...

[Bumbadum]

Ah great, thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated.

You might find yourself dealing with different clients depending on your approach. The pipe and slippers approach will endear you to authors and publishers looking for a solid, dependable and thorough service to proofread books, whereas the more modern approach will make you look more like you're aiming to service designers, web developers etc., dealing with smaller jobs with tight deadlines working every hour god sends. So I think it does make a difference.

Very good point Gpuss, think that'll definitely sway me to the pipe and slippers approach, as i'd very much rather be working with books than with corporate publications and such. I've most definitely considered the future a lot while figuring out how to design the site/choose the name etc, and think i've struck a good balance between what I can do now and what i'd like to do in the future.

I will of course post a link to my site and demand feedback once it's ready, though a friend of mine is hosting it for me and is tied up with other things for a week or two.

Anyway, thanks again people!

[gpuss]

Incidentally, Website Approach would be a great name for an avenue in Silicon Valley.

[JTM]

I found the same as you, and in the end went for modern and professional, but personal. I didn't use the 'we' approach because I felt it was misleading when there's just me on my own!