I don’t see this too often, but here is a problem that could deflect a few of your visitors. Too many fancy terms in the vocabulary. It’s doesn’t just apply to technology sites either. You could have a gardening site, and still bury your visitor with scientific terms that only another professional would know.

Looking at this site, Microsoft Partner San Diego, I found a site that, design wise, had all the pieces in the right spot. My first impression was that they did a great job. Nice logo, tag line, testimonials, and an easy to navigate format. Then I started reading the content. It was too techy! Here is a quote from their home page:

Specifically, Xellent helps strategize, Architect and Implement complex (or extremely complex) Service Oriented N-Tier Applications targeting Microsoft.NET Platform collaborating with other Enterprise Solutions using Messaging/workflow platforms like TIBCO, MQ, BizTalk, Exchange or the like leveraging XML/XSLT.

When this is the main paragraph describing your company, you are going to miss out on some potential clients. Though I am no techno genius, I do consider myself pretty tech savvy, and after reading that paragraph I am no closer to understanding what Xellent Solutions does.

A term that has been around for a long time, and has recently become a little more popular is “Elevator Talk”. Imagine you walk into an elevator as a business owner, and Donald Trump is already inside. He makes conversation with you, and asks “What do you do professionally?”. Would you use the quote from Xellent Solutions above? You only have a few seconds to in an elevator to successfully describe your business. On the web, you have even less time because web surfers fly at an astonishing rate, especially when they are in search mode. Don’t loose out on those potential customers. Write for the general audience, and don’t waste any time saying it.