Writing text for websites is an under-valued skill. The quality of a website's content is just as important as its visual design and technical features, if not more so. It can make the difference between people trusting your business or not.
Good web copy should not only be easy to read online, it should be written for your target audience with a clear objective in mind.
Benefits of well-written web content
- give your target audience the information they are looking for
- encourage people to explore your website more
- turn passive readers into active leads or customers
- reflect a positive and consistent impression of your company
- generate a sense of trust in your brand
- drive people to your site from search engines
- help achieve your website objectives (eg better informed enquiries, more sales, etc).
Hints for writing web copy
- keep sentences and paragraphs short, for easier on-screen reading
- start with a strong intro paragraph (often people don’t read past the first few lines)
- use sub-heads to break up the text, so users can scan the page visually and see what’s covered
- use bullet points rather than sentences to cover key points
- pull out important messages in highlight panels or side quotes
- look for instances where a picture or diagram can convey the information better (a picture tells a thousand words)
- write it for your target audience, NOT yourself (What do they want to know? What are their concerns? What’s in it for them?)
- use first/second person “we” and “you” (eg "we help you do better business" rather than "the company helps its customers do better business")
- write using an active tone of voice (eg "we provide a great service" rather than "a great service is provided")
- avoid slang and jargon unless you know all of your audience will understand it. If you have to use technical jargon, provide a glossary
- include words or phrases within the text that can link to other pages (eg "Copywriting is just one of our web design services" rather than "For info on other services, click here")
- build SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) thinking into your web copy, to help your site be found on Google and other search engines. This means making sure the text and headings include the sort of keywords or phrases people might be searching for.
- don't forget to put time into writing the "invisible" bits of text, such as web page titles, page descriptions and even image "alt" text and link "title" text. The page title (at the top of the browser bar) is used by Google to assess the relevance of your website content. The page description is a "meta tag" that is not visible on the page itself, but is displayed in Google search results. Image "alt" text is displayed to users who have images turned off, or while images load. Link "title" text is displayed in some browsers when users hover over links. All of these elements help improve search results and enhance the experience for site visitors.
- be consistent in your use of capitalisation, acronyms, spelling and grammar. If a number of people are writing copy for your website, produce a style guide so they all follow the same guidelines.
Help for your web project
If you need a new website, or are revamping your old one, we can help you consider copywriting as a key part of the process. We work with professional editors and copywriters who can write web copy for you, edit copy that you provide, or advise on SEO or marketing ideas. Please contact us if you'd like to know more.