What do you think a person assigned to producing (or renewing) a website for his or her company has the most difficulty with? It is how and what to write as the content for the website.

Have you ever been at a loss when a web production company asks you for a manuscript for your website? It especially becomes very difficult to keep a uniform style throughout the website, for example, when there is a different writer for each product that is being introduced. It will help you if you begin by drafting writing guidelines.

Secret No.1: Draft guidelines

Websites contain features such as links and menus. You will be able to greatly reduce the burden on those assigned to write, edit and produce websites, as well as enhance the overall efficiency and quality of the work, by drafting guidelines that keep the utilization of these functions in mind. Guidelines of between two and three pages are sufficient—after all, guidelines that are too detailed become too difficult to read and follow.

Secret No.2: Write the content in-house!

At Arc Communications, we recommend that the customer write the content of their website. It is of course possible for this to be commissioned to us, but it will mean extra costs and time. No one knows the company better than you do, and fresh words written by someone who knows your company best will appeal most strongly to your website’s visitors.

Secret No.3: Outsource and secure a budget for the editing process

Editing is a step that always follows the writing process. Please leave the editing to us. The quality of your website will be enhanced by having us brush up the content, organizing it into easy-to-read text. It will also lessen the burden on the person in charge at your company, and at the same time make it easier to manage delivery deadlines. We recommend that you secure a budget for editing within your website production budget.

At Arc Communications, when editing work is outsourced to us, we create writing guidelines with the customer. We have prepared a model guideline, so if you are having problems with your website content production, why not take a look?You can download it from here (available in Japanese only).

Person in charge: Kentaro Ono

This is the fourth time for “Draw it in 45 seconds!!” a regular feature in the Web version of our fun NOTE. Participants have 15 seconds to think after being told the theme, and 45 seconds to draw it. The difficult theme chosen this time, to test just how much we have been able to develop the right hemispheres of our brains, was the “lion dance.”

Good luck is supposed to befall on those “bitten” by the lion mask. Which lion would you like to be bitten by? Please vote and let us know. As usual, we have a lovely present to give away by drawing to people who cast a ballot. The deadline is Sunday, December 16. We look forward to receiving your votes!!

Note: you can see a bigger image by clicking on it.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the other interesting if not unique drawings that unfortunately were left out of the running for the prize.