Have you ever been on a website and thought “this looks like it was written by a 3rd grader”? You can have a website that’s beautifully designed and a service that’s the best in your field, but if your copy is sloppy, you’re going to appear unprofessional.
So, how exactly can you write webpage copy for your audience that won’t have them turning away from your site? Below, we suggest five tips to help make your copy stand out.
- Check Your Grammar
First things first, check your grammar! Grammar-checking services like Grammarly, which is considered one of the best grammar checking services out there, are free to use. So, no excuses!
It’s important that your copy be clean of errors. Why?
Because people notice when it’s not.
Here and there, you’ll see “then” instead of “than,” or “there” instead of “they’re” or even “their.” If you’re a little more observant, you’ll also notice when a semi-colon is improperly placed.
If you’re noticing this on other people’s webpage copy, others are noticing it on yours. You don’t want anyone to be distracted from your writing because of a grammar mistake. Don’t let the error be a topic of conversation. Check your grammar.
- Get to the Point
Webpage copy is sectioned according to the number of pages in a website. This is great for your audience because if they want to read about your services, they’ll simply go to your “Services” page. Or, if they want to know how to contact you, they’ll go to the “Contact Us” tab.
Each page should say exactly what you’re intending it to say. No need to get wordy if you don’t have to. Your “About” page is likely the only page that should read more like a story since you’re telling folks why you’re in business and who you are.
Keep in mind: with webpage copy, you’re not writing a book. There are plenty of book advice sites out there to help you with book writing. Webpage writing isn’t the space for it.
- Make it Interesting from the Start
If you’re not familiar with this strategy, it basically means that you make your article incredibly appealing from the get-go, with either an enticing first line or title, or even your metadata. This means that you pretty much told the audience something that makes them want to read your whole piece.
Many times, web writers give away the punchline right away. Meaning, they tell you in full transparency what you’ll be reading about. This is a great strategy, especially when starting out because your site isn’t yet known.
This is a big difference from established, known pages, where the audience will read any number of words just because of how popular this page is.
If you have something to say and want your audience to know exactly what they’ll be reading, make it interesting from the start. You reel them in, let them know what’s going on and what you’re offering, and then let them know where to find it.
- Put Yourself in Your Audience’s Shoes
Would you be reading your copy if you were them? Would you enjoy it? Even if you’re not the target audience, you’re a human being. Your time is valuable, and you like to be engaged. Make the copy something you’ll enjoy and can relate to.
- Get Feedback
Get feedback on your copy along the way and adjust when needed. If no one is coming to your webpage, analyze and be curious as to why. You may ask for advice at that point or check into optimizing your copy with keywords. Tell the story of the webpage without saturating it with keywords, and understand you have a website because you have a service. Find out what’s working and what’s not.
To summarize: write great, interesting copy for your site, check your grammar, get feedback, and make sure you’re serving your audience right.
