Jakob Neilsen published an article on his website about the things that businesses should fix first on their websites Writing is more than just filling the page with words (as Seth Godin rightly points out).

The gist of it is:

• Communicate clearly
• Provide information that users want
• Use consistent page design and clear navigation

The key sentence in the whole piece (from an Articulate Marketing perspective) is:

Content rules. It did ten years ago, and it does today. People don’t use things they don’t understand. Writing for the Web is still undervalued, and most sites spend too few resources refining the information they offer to users.

His explanation for the failure of businesses to follow this advice and add useless frilly bits like 3D models, flash animations and humongous home page pictures?

In contrast, no trade show booth features Photographers’ Society representatives saying “clear photos move more products,” even though it’s the truth. Nor does the Writers’ Guild cold-call Internet managers to sell them on the value of bulleted lists.

It’s the truth. However a few smart companies are hiring specialists who understand this. The full article is well worth a read.