Selling intangibles is hard work. Putting together a successful Web site that peddles intangibles is even harder.

Lawyers, architects, engineers, designers, ad agencies, physicians, and other professionals don't, however, seem fazed. That's particularly true of the legal world, where no self-respecting law firm would be caught dead nowadays without a Web site.

Here's a look at the top sins that many professional services sites—maybe most—commit... along with some suggestions on what can be done about them.

1. Self-centeredness

This is the deadliest sin.

Visitors come to Web sites for all sorts of reasons. These include checking out bios or seeing what kind of work a firm or practice does.

Surveys tell us, however, that buyers come to sites for assurance, not ego trips. Buyers know that there's little that separates the top firms or practices from one another. They expect to be told by everybody in the top tier that "Our people went to the best schools, do the best work and care the most about our clients."

What buyers want is comfort. That means offering a site that shows "We know you, your business, and your industry—and we've solved the kind of problem you have.

"We've earned the right to be considered."

In other words, don't just talk about yourself. Or, merely assert that you care. Show it.

How do you do that on a Web site? Do it by showing visitors that you're looking at the law or medicine or whatever from their point of view.

Doctors get this. At least the ones who have Web sites—mostly plastic and cosmetic surgeons and ophthalmologists.

When you visit one of these sites, you know immediately you're in the right place. Most doctors' sites are about us... not just them.

Imagine a law firm site that invited visitors to describe their problem—what they need. Instead, virtually every law firm Web site invites readers to figure out, on their own, in which of the firm's service pigeonholes they belong. That's OK if you're a corporate counsel buying legal services—but what if you aren't a lawyer?

2. Wordiness

There's way too much black on most professional sites, and way too little white. Long words in long sentences making up long paragraphs stuck in long bios, long service descriptions and the like.

Gray. Dull. Boring. That's how most pages on professional sites look.

One reason is that most lawyers and other professionals are far more linear and long-winded than most readers. Most of us scan. Or we nibble.

Looking at a screen full of words shuts people down. I doubt, for example, that even my mother has read this far. "Too many words," she thought.

This is a huge battle. Short takes discipline, and that takes work. Work is hard. Hard doesn't get done.

3. Jargon

You're probably seeing a pattern by now. The common belief is "See me. See my credentials. See how smart I am and how much I know. Hire me."

Technical jargon doesn't provide comfort. For starters, it doesn't get read. Too hard.

What it does—read or not—is send a message to those of us who aren't blessed with a medical degree or whatever: It says arrogance. "We matter. You don't."

Sites don't have to dumb down. I like knowing that my lawyer understands debentures... whatever they are. It comforts me to know this.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Doug Stern (www.doug-stern.com) is a freelance business writer and marketing strategist based in Louisville, KY. Contact him at 502-599-6624 or stern.doug@gmail.com.