What is the appropriate verb for telling someone to read your website? I wonder this because in the last week I think I have heard a dozen different radio telling people to visit the advertiser’s website, but each one said it in a different way. I have heard all of the following used: logon to, click on, point your browser to, go to, visit our website at, and several others that escape me at the moment. Many advertisers try to avoid using a verb all together by using some variation of “online at www…”.
It seems to me with such a wide variety of terms used for the exact same action there needs to be a single word to describe that action. Market analysts are constantly evaluating the language they use in advertisements, to ensure maximum impact on their target audiences. Despite all the research, there is clearly no consensus for how to tell some to get on the web and read the contents of a website. I would have expected someone to coin a phrase by now that would catch on and everyone would start using, but given the age of the internet, and the myriad new words created and adopted into the lexicon, I suspect that this particular issue may be a problem for years to come.
As long as we have accepted the term web “site” even thought there is no geography that can be defined by a website then another geography related word sould also be acceptable. Visit works fine with me. If the majority does not like “visit” then perhaps we should rethink calling them sites.
I really have no problem with what term we use, I just think we need to pick one, or two, and be consistent. Listening to ads and the news, it really sounds like people are unsure what verbiage to use, so the say all manner of awkward things.
I like what they say on NPR: “Check us out on the web”.