We’ve already discussed things to consider as a general approach to writing good content for your website and have discussed 3 practical pointers. How do you effectively write content for a website? Let’s continue with the 3 foundations for website content – Humanity, Scalability, and Credibility.
How to Write Effective Website Content for Your Business
Humanity
Write less like you would for a brochure and more like how you speak to a friend. Your writing should be genuine, friendly, approachable, reliable, natural and conversational.
Connect with your audience. Say we us or our, not our company. Say you, not our customers.
Your website should reflect you and your business. What would they expect if someone were to meet you in person after viewing your website?
Scalability
Get your point across quickly. Bring what’s most important to your audience front and centre. Inverted pyramid (general to specific) or try and get your main point in first 25 words. The crucial information must go at the beginning, they could stop reading at anytime.
Make your headings and subheadings meaningful and specific. If they only read the subheadings, will they understand?
Lists are better than paragraphs but keep them to 5-7 items.
If you have a few (up to 5) items, the viewer will read all. If, for example, you had 25 items the reader is likely to read less than 5.
- What are the most important points?
- Are some of your points saying the same thing?
Make link text helpful because the scanner will jump to it. Keep it short and use action verbs where possible. Keep to plain English, not URL’s (eg. Download Catalogue rather than www.yourdomain.com/about/resources…). That is the beauty of link text – you can hide all the ugly stuff and only show what you want to.
Credibility
Fight the fluff! Substitute general descriptions with specific facts. Only tell the verifiable truth. Try not to over-emphasise or exaggerate. Remember that your website is for your client, not for you. Let customers do your bragging for you – consider including a testimonials section on your site.
Other Quick Tips for Effective Website Content Creation
- Use simple, clear language – avoid jargon or overly technical terms
- Make sure to use active voice instead of passive voice
- Structure content in a way that makes it easy for users to find the information they need quickly and easily
- Keep paragraphs short and concise
- Include images, videos, audio recordings, and other visual elements to break up the text
- Include calls to action that encourage visitors to take action
- Make sure all of your content is SEO optimised, with relevant keywords
- Make sure that all links work correctly – test them regularly!
- Utilise social media integration for maximum reach and engagement
Proofread! You will come across as unprofessional and unreliable if your content has errors. Bad spelling and grammar are pet peeves for many people.
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