Increase Your Web Sales With Better Site Readability

Why Simple Language Drives Sales

When a visitor lands on your site, they’re probably juggling a dozen other options in their mind. A quick glance, a swipe, or a search result click can either keep them engaged or push them elsewhere. The first thing you control is how quickly they understand what you’re offering. If the words on your pages feel like a college thesis, that’s a fast‑track exit strategy.

Most people browse online at a reading level around eighth grade. Studies from the National Reading Panel and other research groups confirm that most adults read best when text is clear and concise. If your copy uses industry jargon, long technical terms, or convoluted sentence structures, you’re unintentionally raising the bar. Visitors will scan the page, lose interest, and leave - often without even looking at your call to action.

It isn’t a judgment about your audience’s intelligence. It’s a question of engagement. People love to feel understood. When they encounter plain, everyday English that explains benefits in a straightforward way, they’re more likely to stay, explore, and convert. The opposite - dense, formal language - creates friction and signals that you’re not speaking directly to them.

Imagine a potential buyer searching for a cloud‑storage solution. They arrive at a page filled with terms like “data redundancy architecture,” “high‑availability clustering,” and “distributed hash tables.” Even if the product is perfect, the buyer may not realize it fits their needs because the language is too technical. If the same information is presented as “store your files safely, access them from any device, and never worry about losing data,” the message lands instantly.

Another subtle barrier is the hidden cost of lengthy URLs embedded in your text. Each hyphenated word adds syllables, inflating readability scores and nudging readers toward distraction. Short, clean links feel less intimidating and encourage click‑throughs.

Ultimately, readability is a silent sales tool. When visitors can absorb information quickly, they spend more time on your pages, encounter your value proposition multiple times, and are more likely to take the next step - whether that’s requesting a demo, downloading a white paper, or placing an order. The clearer the language, the stronger the sales funnel becomes.

Now that we’ve explored why plain language matters, let’s look at how to make your site’s copy easier to read without a major rewrite. A handful of free tools can surface jargon, measure sentence length, and suggest simpler alternatives. By following a straightforward process, you’ll boost readability and, in turn, your conversion rates.

Practical Steps to Make Your Site Readable

Step one is to audit your current copy. Copy the text from each webpage into a fresh Microsoft Word document. This will give you a clean slate to work with and keep your original site intact. While Word’s built‑in spell check is handy for catching typos, it doesn’t flag jargon or long words. That’s where a specialized tool comes in.

Download Bullfighter, a free application from Deloitte & Touche. It functions like a spell checker but focuses on jargon and readability. After installing, run Bullfighter on your Word document. The software highlights words that may be too technical or unfamiliar to the average reader. For each flagged term, decide whether it’s essential or can be replaced with a simpler synonym. Use the built‑in thesaurus or a quick online lookup to find a more approachable word.

Once you’ve scrubbed out the jargon, it’s time to measure readability. In Word, go to the Tools menu, click Options, then the Spelling & Grammar tab. Check the box labeled “Show Readability Statistics.” Run a spelling and grammar check. After Word finishes, a dialog will appear showing the Flesch Reading Ease score and the Flesch‑Kincaid Grade Level. A score between 80 and 90 on the Reading Ease scale indicates very easy readability, while a grade level of 6 or 7 aligns with eighth‑grade reading.