I have to say, the copy had the pungent aroma of “ignorance”, and left the terrible aftertaste of “amateur” in my mouth. Please, hire a copywriter. I mean wow…
“People don’t read websites anymore”
While there is a lot of truth in the scanning habit, it appears that the author(s?) seems to have taken his own statistics (i.e. nobody reads) as some sort of global truth, regardless of how industry statistics show that readability in digital format is even more important than ever.
To the people behind this site: people don’t read when they can’t read the text, and / or are bored by a poorly written piece. And as if to prove your own assumptions: your site has both. In spades.
“…is choosier…”
“Choosier?” Seriously? Ironically, the underlying message is about authenticity as well. I cringe at the thought of using “choosier” at a major pitch:
“I’m glad you asked that question. The answer is: the new consumer is choosier and more knowledgeable nowadays…”
“That’s an interesting statement. Would you be so kind as to expound further as to who or what constitutes your definition of a ‘choosier’ new consumer? Michael here from marketing is also interested. You can start by sharing with him the survey or research methods your company utilized in gathering the data which led to your conclusions.”
That was a D-minus chaps. You just shot yourselves in the face.
Copy is important. It shows people what kind of company you are, and what the company culture is like. It’s even more telling than the 5-milestone marketese you try to sell. If you can’t even be bothered to write decent copy, and instead, try to sidestep it by attempting to come off as cheeky or confident using blah blah blah; then I’m afraid you’ve failed at both. The only impressions you left were: 1) giving me the impression that you are lazy, and can’t be bothered with the finer details (again, as if to prove it – you have icon buttons without title tags, and non-links that look like links), and 2) you disrespect your audience by greatly underestimating their level of intelligence.
To sum it up (and to repeat myself): hire a copywriter. I know you guys were trying to sound candid and down-to-earth, but you didn’t; you sounded crass and ill-mannered, and that’s the critical difference a copywriter makes.
very valid points but I think you may have been a little harsh on their copywriting skills, as english is obviously not their native tongue but in saying that the tone is very poorly set and to me it just smacks of arrogance.
I just like how it said “people simply don’t read websites anymore” then followed it up with a big ole block of copy. Followed by 4 pictures then more copy.
I may have been a little harsh with “choosier”, but a narrow range of vocabulary can be forgiven. But as you said: the tone, regardless of whether it was intentional or not, was truly unprofessional.
English not being their native language is not an excuse in this case; they’re targeting an international market. If you’re not good at english, hire someone who is.
I rather enjoyed the tone of their copywriting; it’s their style. It reflects the voice with which they want to give their company. And frankly, I think they’re right… as much as you want to think brilliantly written copy is what keeps a person reading, it’s not. Yes, there is the rare percentage of people who meticulously scan every line of text on a website, but be honest with yourself… most don’t. They even go so far as to give common sense reasons as to why they believe this. They were proving a point, I think they accomplished that.
With that said, love the site, and even more so the scaling… it’s not often that a site makes the most of the browser window.
Great site! Love the design and actually didn’t notice a big issue with the site until reading the previous comments. I really enjoyed the “visual stimulation” that this site gave me. I didn’t make the copy out to be an issue. But hey, maybe it will be the one thing that would stir a potential client faraway or… maybe not. Love it!
17 Comments
Awesome scaling, nice attention to detail, and working outside the grid gives it a deliberate uniqueness. No favicon though? Odd.
Great and flexible scaling, my guess would be it might look great on mobile too, have to check that out.
I dig this. Yes, we’ve seen textures and ribbons before but it looks great.
It works it works. Grids are way over-rated.
Scaling really good…nice site…but theload..is not so fast…I like this background too..
I have to say, the copy had the pungent aroma of “ignorance”, and left the terrible aftertaste of “amateur” in my mouth. Please, hire a copywriter. I mean wow…
“People don’t read websites anymore”
While there is a lot of truth in the scanning habit, it appears that the author(s?) seems to have taken his own statistics (i.e. nobody reads) as some sort of global truth, regardless of how industry statistics show that readability in digital format is even more important than ever.
To the people behind this site: people don’t read when they can’t read the text, and / or are bored by a poorly written piece. And as if to prove your own assumptions: your site has both. In spades.
“…is choosier…”
“Choosier?” Seriously? Ironically, the underlying message is about authenticity as well. I cringe at the thought of using “choosier” at a major pitch:
“I’m glad you asked that question. The answer is: the new consumer is choosier and more knowledgeable nowadays…”
“That’s an interesting statement. Would you be so kind as to expound further as to who or what constitutes your definition of a ‘choosier’ new consumer? Michael here from marketing is also interested. You can start by sharing with him the survey or research methods your company utilized in gathering the data which led to your conclusions.”
That was a D-minus chaps. You just shot yourselves in the face.
Copy is important. It shows people what kind of company you are, and what the company culture is like. It’s even more telling than the 5-milestone marketese you try to sell. If you can’t even be bothered to write decent copy, and instead, try to sidestep it by attempting to come off as cheeky or confident using blah blah blah; then I’m afraid you’ve failed at both. The only impressions you left were: 1) giving me the impression that you are lazy, and can’t be bothered with the finer details (again, as if to prove it – you have icon buttons without title tags, and non-links that look like links), and 2) you disrespect your audience by greatly underestimating their level of intelligence.
To sum it up (and to repeat myself): hire a copywriter. I know you guys were trying to sound candid and down-to-earth, but you didn’t; you sounded crass and ill-mannered, and that’s the critical difference a copywriter makes.
Well said dudey.
Why can’t provide email address of author about submit purpose. If provide, it can’t appear easily.
@dude
very valid points but I think you may have been a little harsh on their copywriting skills, as english is obviously not their native tongue but in saying that the tone is very poorly set and to me it just smacks of arrogance.
your “hire a copywriter” comment is much needed
I just like how it said “people simply don’t read websites anymore” then followed it up with a big ole block of copy. Followed by 4 pictures then more copy.
BUT. This site is nice to look at.
@Carl:
I may have been a little harsh with “choosier”, but a narrow range of vocabulary can be forgiven. But as you said: the tone, regardless of whether it was intentional or not, was truly unprofessional.
English not being their native language is not an excuse in this case; they’re targeting an international market. If you’re not good at english, hire someone who is.
They need to talk to Bnonn @ Information Highwayman – he’s a briliiant copywriter.
I rather enjoyed the tone of their copywriting; it’s their style. It reflects the voice with which they want to give their company. And frankly, I think they’re right… as much as you want to think brilliantly written copy is what keeps a person reading, it’s not. Yes, there is the rare percentage of people who meticulously scan every line of text on a website, but be honest with yourself… most don’t. They even go so far as to give common sense reasons as to why they believe this. They were proving a point, I think they accomplished that.
With that said, love the site, and even more so the scaling… it’s not often that a site makes the most of the browser window.
Is this a http://www.nosotroshq.com/ spin-off company? It looks the same, plus they share some portfolio items.
I’m sure it would say in the copy, if they were… but I don’t read copy anymore!
PS. love the footer: ‘Prosecutors will be Violated’
Ouch!
I’ve seen the Teixdo site a few times now. It screams “quality honesty”.
And whilst there is some debate about the copy, their design and obvious attention to detail in other areas is very impressive.
I did just start that last sentence with an “and”, and I’m OK with that
Wow. For someone who’s a stranger regarding site design, this is just beautiful.
Great site! Love the design and actually didn’t notice a big issue with the site until reading the previous comments. I really enjoyed the “visual stimulation” that this site gave me. I didn’t make the copy out to be an issue. But hey, maybe it will be the one thing that would stir a potential client faraway or… maybe not. Love it!