How to write your website content
You website is your shop window and people will judge you on how it looks and what it says. We have helped you with the design – but what about the words.
Getting the messages right is crucial, and you may want to seek professional advice about what to say and how to say it.
But you can do it yourself – you know your customers and business – and here are some tips to help you through the creative process.
- Think about your own reaction to websites - remember the things that annoy you and those you find helpful. Pay particular attention to the websites of your competitors.
- Plan your website - think about what the key message is for each page and what the most important aspects of your business are. It often makes sense to leave the Home page until last: you’ll have a good understanding of where you need to direct people and what information is the most important.
- Benefits not features - a list of what your service or product offers will make sense to you, it may not hold the attention of your customer. Think about it from your customer’s perspective, so say what the benefits are rather than what you offer.
- Keep it simple - when people read websites they move very quickly from one page to another and text is scanned rather than read. Your customer will be looking for an indication that they have found the page they’re looking for so use bold paragraph headings and use short sections of text. Information is much easier to take in using a few bullet points.
- Check the text - mistakes are easy to miss and make a bad impression on potential customers. It’s a good idea to ask someone who represents a typical customer to read the website and tell you if any of it is incomprehensible to someone not in the trade. Never, ever, rely on a computer’s spellchecker.
- If in doubt get in touch. Call one of our advisers who will be able to help with any questions you may have.
Your Home page
This page needs to tell people instantly that they’ve reached the right business. It also needs to be immediately obvious how to navigate your site.
Some things to think about when deciding what to include:
- What does your business do? Keep it simple, short and straightforward
- What area do you serve? The customer needs to know immediately that your business is relevant to them, either geographically or what you do.
- Think about your typical customer and what information is most valuable to them.
- What budget are you catering for? Are you all about bargains and excellent value for money, or are you selling luxury/premium priced products.
- What does your website enable them to do? Can they buy online or is the site just a source of information or advice?
- What do they do next? What information will people want next and how do they find it on your website.
Your ‘About Us’ pages
This is the page to convince potential customers that your business is the one they should chose to do business with. You need to make it clear that you are very good at what you do.
- This is where you could include customer testimonials, particularly from repeat customers. A loyal customer is a great indicator of the quality of service you offer. But anonymous testimonials do not carry much weight.
- Are your staff a key selling point? If so include a page on their experience and expertise.
- Your may also want to add a business history page detailing how it has grown and why it has been so successful. Things to include:
- Why did you first set up business?
- When did you establish the business
- In what ways have you expanded, diversified or otherwise changed your business since then?
- What are your credentials? Have you won awards, are you a member of any professional body and do you have professional qualification.
All these details make you a more reliable and trustworthy business to deal with in the mind of the prospective customer. But remember – people scan web pages rather than read them, so keep it short!
Products or services
This is where you can go into more detail, tell customers exactly what you’re selling. Base the amount of information you include on what you think your customers need to know before making a purchase. Remember – sell the benefits.
- If you have a large number of products, split them into groups.
- Give each product its own page and include:
- What does the product do?
- A picture if applicable.
- What is it used for and how does this benefit the customer?
- What does it cost?
- Practical considerations like delivery details or assembly time?
- Does it have certification or approval from a third party?
Contact us - the call to action
This is the most important part of any marketing. The call to action is what moves the potential customer to pick up the phone, or email, or fill in a form, or visit your premises.
Your whole website should be based round the word AIDA:
- A – Attention – this is what your home page should do
- I – Interest – sell the benefits and tell them how good you are
- D – Desire – make them want to do business with you
- A – Action – get them to get in touch.
