Writing your own well-considered website copy
There is no better way to dive into the details of your business than by writing your own website copy—explaining what you do or offer to your audience. You may feel scared, anxious, excited, or even frustrated about writing your own content. It’s a big job, and you’ll need to dedicate focused time without distractions (easier said than done!).
During project planning, I spend time explaining the proposed sitemap (also known as site structure) and an idea of what content will go on each page. This helps give clients an understanding of the types of topics or information they’ll want to include. My wireframes provide a visual representation of the layout, showing the hierarchy of the content within the pages and often depicting the length of copy required, helping clients think further about the task at hand.
Despite this, copywriting is often underestimated in both time and complexity. This guide aims to help you, before you consider hiring a professional copywriter!
Learn Your CCC's
There are three main pillars to consider when starting to write your website content, all conveniently starting with the letter C. Spending time getting these right is worth its weight in gold. If you’ve worked through my brand or website briefing templates, some of these will already be familiar to you.
Company (that's you)
Goal of Your Site: What are you trying to achieve? What do you want your potential clients or customers to do on your site?
Tone of Voice: How do you want to come across? Knowledgeable, warm, trustworthy, friendly, corporate, professional, techy, funny, or light-hearted?
Products/Services: Keep it succinct and jargon-free. Explain it as if someone has never heard of your business or services before.
Client (or Customer)
Client (or Customer)
Clearly define your ideal client or customer so you know how to talk to them. Consider:
Demographics
Psychographics
Pain Points
Refer to testimonials, reviews, surveys, or client interviews—use social proof to connect with your ideal client by using their language.
Top tip: Consider researching user personas and create fictional clients or customers who might use your website.
Competition
Conduct thorough competitor research:
What's Good or Bad?: What works about their site, and what doesn't?
Page Layout and Design: What feels effective, and why?
Stand Out: Avoid copying content from other websites, especially competitors. Google will detect duplicate content, even if slightly tweaked, and could penalise your domain. Be unique and make your content your own.
Keywords & Key Phrases
Once you've covered the three Cs, start thinking about your sitemap—the pages for your website. Most basic websites include five main pages:
Home
About
Services / Products / Shop
FAQs / Projects / Portfolio / How it works
Contact
At this stage, start researching keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Select one primary keyword (or key phrase) for each page, along with some secondary keywords. These keywords should be woven into the copy on each page. Tools like Keywords Everywhere or Google Ads can help with this research.
Putting Pen to Paper
Use Your Sitemap as a Frame: Set up a separate Google Doc for each page and create a skeleton outline, including bulleted content ideas.
Key Messaging: Brainstorm key messages based on your knowledge.
Page Sections: Remember that your content will likely be broken up into sections, making it easier to digest.
Design Considerations: Refer to wireframes—think about how the section layout might fit with what you’d like to write. For example, is there an image or graphic associated with a section?
Headlines: Use your keyword research to craft engaging headlines. These are important for SEO.
Body Copy: The bulkier paragraphs under headings are referred to as body copy. Optimise this for SEO by incorporating keywords.
Call To Action (CTA): A CTA is a compelling step, task, button, or link encouraging potential clients or customers to take action on your website. The copy used in CTAs must be carefully considered.
Meta Titles: These are shown on the browser tab at the top of your site and are limited to approximately 60 characters. Each page should have a meta title optimised for SEO.
Meta Descriptions: These are the sentences shown underneath the page title in search engine results, limited to approximately 155 characters. Each page should have a meta description optimised for SEO.
Image File Names and Alt Tags: Used in accessible development and SEO, these should also contain your keywords where applicable.
Takeaways & Tips
Explain Everything Simply: Don’t make people think. Explain everything succinctly and in layman's terms. Keep your copy short, scannable, and simple.
Focus on Pain, Then Provide a Solution: Refer to your user personas. Make visitors feel the way you want them to feel by leading with emotion or a relatable scenario.
Limit Choices: Make it easy for visitors to choose. Don’t overwhelm them with too many options.
Use ‘You' Over 'We': Avoid using “we” repeatedly. Talk about your customer or client, using “you” or “your” instead of focusing on your business.
Craft Clear Headlines: Headlines need to immediately tell visitors who you are, what you do for them, and why they should care. The goal of a headline is to engage the user.
Use Numbers: Highlight your experience, client numbers, percentage improvements, or revenue increases.
Consistency Across Platforms: Ensure messaging is consistent across your new website and other platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).
Get Feedback: Have someone not closely related to your brand—not family or friends—proofread your copy. Their feedback will help you refine those numerous drafts you’ll likely create!
Keep Your Drafts: You might want to revisit that perfect headline from an earlier version.
Ready for business growth? George Builds Websites is proud to be a Florida based web design agency serving businesses in Boca Raton, Lakeland, Winter Garden, Davenport, Brandon & Lake Nona.
