Web taglines: the solution is the problem

One of the most overused words on the web is "solution", as in "web marketing solution" or "SEO solution". It's a meaningless cliché that says nothing about the nature of your business.

Take IT&e for example. Their web tagline boldly proclaims "Cutting Edge FINANCIAL SOLUTION Provider" (view website). But what does "financial solution" mean exactly?

Are they a bank, finance company, investment advisor or financial planner? Do they offer credit cards, home or personal loans, financial services staff for business or personal wealth planning? Actually, it's none of the above.

In the bottom right corner the site states (in small text): "IT&e is a technology company with the reputation for delivering cutting edge solutions to the Financial Services Industry." OK, I'm getting it now – they sell to the financial services industry.

And then, "IT&e offers a suite of products and service-based solutions to enable development of complex application solutions for the financial services industry." That's spectacular gobbledegook (using "solutions" twice in the same sentence) but I'm starting to piece it together.

I think IT&e develops software applications and provides IT services to the financial services industry. So why couldn't they just say it? Why do I have to work so hard to find out what they do?

Every business website needs a good tagline – a simple statement of what the business does and who they do it for. For example, IT&e could use, "Software applications and IT services for the financial services industry".

A new visitor needs to know immediately what your site is about. Don't waste their time by making them decipher what your solutions are.

An article on the overuse of "solution"

Jakob Nielsen's advice for writing good website taglines