How to Read Websites from Those Who Write Them
We live in an era when memes spread faster than news, when news become fiction and fiction news, and when you can find sources to corroborate your beliefs online. The internet has become more than a library of all human knowledge; it’s now a purveyor of the most outlandish, most esoteric and most fake information ever imagined.
As a race, humans have never before encountered so much information. And it’s all just a tap away. We don’t always know what to do with it. When you consider how to read websites, you have to first consider the website you’re visiting and the search term you used.
All Websites Are Not Created Equal
The idea started with movies, where money creates illusions. The better the special effects, the more easily you buy into the vision. If you’re watching a cheaply made movie, the suspension of disbelief becomes harder. In the same way, if you come upon a website that’s cheaply made, you start reading with a bias toward disbelief already.
As the technology improved, so did the production values of even cheaply made movies. That didn’t level the playing field; it merely pushed big-budget movies (and websites) to even greater heights. So you can’t make a movie like they did in the 1950s (or build a website like they did in the 1990s) and expect to be taken seriously.
Technology today allows even small business concerns to put together beautifully designed websites with ease and speed. That’s good and bad. It’s easier for you to put up a dazzling website for your business, but it’s also easier (and cheaper) for those publishing scam sites. Those sites have become more and more believable.
How to Read Websites
Truth is in the eye of the beholder. And the responsibility for determining the truth rests there as well. In other words, caveat emptor: buyer beware. Social media platforms have begun labeling sites of questionable content or at least sharing the bias of those sites. It’s up to you to figure out whether to believe what you read or not. Further research helps, but there’s so much online about any topic.
The same holds true for business websites. A slick site may try to sell you content writing, for example, with promises of excellent quality. It’s up to you to dig deeper. Look at the portfolio, if there is one. Ask questions. It may be true or it may be a sales pitch. At Ray Access, we not only show you our past work, but share professional advice on effective content creation. Because we’re truly professionals.
Be Careful Out There
When you surf the internet or search for information, be smart by remaining skeptical. Double-check facts before you trust them — including what you read here. You may eventually be able to trust certain websites, but always remember why a website exists. Sometimes, it’s to share vital information. Sometimes, it’s just to sell advertising.
When you know how to read websites, you understand the value of truly authoritative sources. You learn which sites to visit. We hope that you come to trust Ray Access. We provide researched facts and advice. We’re in business to provide online content to businesses. So become media literate; it’s a good way to learn how to read websites. Don’t take anything for granted. And use the internet responsibly.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
