Writing Web Copy (Why is content important?)

Written by Danny Dawson, 20th March 2006

Retention

Relevant and informative information is vital to maintain the interest of your visitors. Your potential clients will go elsewhere if they can't find information on your website.

Search Engines

Search engines cannot read images or flash animation. In order for search engines to rank your website, relevant text must be placed within your pages. Your page headings must also include words from your title, description and key word tags.

Considering your text

Print-based literature and web pages are different. People tend to skim-read web pages and they don't read much in detail. Use some or all of the following –
  • Make your point up front
  • Keep your copy short and to the point
  • Write in a conversational tone as a person, not a company
  • Don't use jargon
  • Include a call to action
  • Write the word 'you' instead of 'we'
  • Stress the benefits of your products before features
  • Break large amounts of text into more pages
  • Use headers, sub headers, bulleted lists

Standard pages

The two most common questions every visitor asks are "Who are you?", and "How do I contact you?"

Also consider a Privacy policy if your website collects / handles personal information. Accessibility and Terms of Use is particularly important for public services, however, most websites will not need these.