Our Top 5 Guidelines for Well-Written Websites

People are ruthless when reading web pages. They’ll read the first three words of a heading to decide if they want to read the rest of it. It's your responsibility to grab their attention before they can move on.

This process happens quickly and instinctually in the reader’s mind, making it your responsibility to grab them before they can move on. 

Writing good web copy is hard.

It challenges how we are used to writing, stripping away flowery language and wordiness to deliver digestible concepts to readers. 

Use these guidelines to help write compelling copy for how people consume content: in a hurry. 

Know your audience.

Identify the Customer’s Problem and Communicate the Solution

When scanning web content, people are always thinking, “what’s in it for me?”

Don’t sell. Educate.

Utilize your expertise to guide your customer through identifying their problem and finding their solution (ideally within the company).

Who is this copy for? To write copy for your customers (current or prospective), you first need to understand who they are and why they are here. 

Creating buyer personas is a great way to identify your customers and their problems.

Client-In Language

Talk to Prospects About Their Challenges in Their Words

It’s easy to forget as the expert that your reader might not know the language and jargon of your field.

Jargon will confuse the people reading your site. Confusion makes people leave.  

Talk to them in their voice, through the lens of their issue. 

We call this Client-in language. 

When people read things in their own language, they’ll come away with the sense that you get them and can ultimately better help them.

Chunkify your content.

People Don’t Read. They Scan 

People aren’t reading everything you write. 

Truthfully, they’re just scanning for the information they came looking for in the first place. 

“Chunkify” is an umbrella term that refers to formatting your web content into digestible “chunks.”

This means:

• Short, concise paragraphs
• Bullet points and lists
• Descriptive headings and subheadings

Be thorough—but brief.

Give them the information they need in as few words as possible. People don’t want to wade through your personal thought processes to get to the information. 

Front Load, Entice People to Continue Reading 

Front loading refers to putting the important information first in the headings. Use the first words of the heading to get them to read the rest and help them find the information they seek. 

Share Your Company’s Personality and Culture

Let your passion for what you do come through in your copy. 

Yes, it's important to be informative, but you want your reader to keep reading. 

Find your unique tone of voice. 

Every company is different, and your web copy should reflect that. 

Maybe you want your writing to have a formal tone that conveys your expertise. Maybe you can be more cheeky and fun with your copy.

Pick what works best for your company and be consistent. Let your voice come through. 

Follow These Guidelines for Well-Written Web Copy

When it comes to web copy, it’s not just about what information you include. It’s also about how you choose to convey it. How you write and structure your content could determine whether or not people will take the time to read what you’ve written. 

Chunkifying your content, speaking directly to your audience, and establishing your tone of voice will build trust with current or potential customers and create more engaging copy.