The editor of any self-respecting printed medium would not dream of confusing the em dash (—), en dash (–) and hyphen (-) within the publication. And while most of us could not articulate the difference, we
would mostly find ourselves using the correct punctuation mark when hand-writing a letter.

But what has happened online?

Most websites have no regard for the distinction between these — any many other — marks of punctuation. Mostly, this is because the standard keyboard does not allow without RSI-inducing keyboard sequences.

If you are the sort who seeks professionalism in everything you do, you can respect the purpose of these time-tested punctuation marks by first understanding when to use which, and then how to actually type them or include them in a website.

1. Em Dash (—): Denotes a pause in thought, a parenthetical statement, or — more casually — an afterthought. In a web page, a web developer can include — to represent the character. When typing, you can input a character by holding ALT and typing 0151 on the numpad.
2. En Dash (–): Denotes a range, especially of numbers, such as $100–150. – in a web page or ALT-0150 on a keyboard.
3. Hyphen (-): Used for the hyphenation of words (co-ordination; able-minded; pre- and post- touring.) Just use the keyboard key for this one.

Now don’t get me started on apostrophes and quote marks being “encompassed” by the tick character on the keyboard…

It’s easy to forget that your website can, and should, be used for much more than just sales.

Also consider:

• Having an employment page with an up-to-date list of jobs, possibly within an area of your website that also discusses company culture and introduces your staff
• Providing downloadable frequently-used forms and documents
• An education, training and resources area for partners and resellers

Carefully consider all people who might use your website to take full advantage of the medium.

Advertising on other websites can be an excellent way to bring targetedtraffic to your website. However, much advertising is over-priced, and you should evaluate each opportunity to ensure you are getting value for money.

Make sure you know how many visitors the website receives to the section on which you wish to advertise. Ask how many visitors other advertisers in the same section receive each month. Attempt to calculate how much you will essentially be paying for each visitor, and compare this with your other advertising.

If you proceed with the advertising, ensure you track its success using your website statistics package. Ideally, use statistics features such as Google Analytics’ Goal Funneling, which can help you track the origin of actual sales back to websites on which you advertise.

And if in doubt, ask the advertiser for a free trial — most websites will have sufficient confidence in their website traffic to allow this.

There are various ways you can refer your website address in a written format. For example;

• http://www.example.com
• http://www.example.com/
• www.example.com
• example.com

None is more correct than another (although, on a technical level, there are differences.) You should check to make sure that your website is accessible without the ‘www’ — this is dependent on your web host, and in most circumstances, if it is not configured this way, it is easy to change (and you should request this.)

Then, you need to consider and adopt a consistent way of displaying your website address. Consider these factors when making your decision:

• The ‘http://’ takes up a fair bit of space
• The ‘www’ stands out and is immediately recognisable as a website address
• The shortest form, example.com, can be more easily associated with your business name, and is easier to speak (which makes it easier to remember)

Whichever you choose, be sure to maintain consistency!

When you write content for your website, you will find yourself using one particular grammatical person —  singular first-, plural first-, or third-person. (Compare I offer book-keeping… we offer book-keeping… ABC Pty Ltd offers book-keeping.)

The person you choose to write in should match the image you wish to present about your business:

• Singular First Person: I am a micro-business that can offer you personalised, expert service
• Plural First Person: We are a small team of professionals, each with our own speciality
• Third Person: The company is larger, has support personnel, and can offer a wider range of services

Once you’ve chosen the most appropriate grammatical person for your desired business image, make sure you are consistent across your website and other marketing literature. And, above all, ensure your service matches the image you present.