Words are information, but they are also an opportunity to delight, engage and entertain a reader.
This is especially important on a website, where the user is often scrolling through whilst doing other things. Yes, you can use amazing design, animation, videos and images to hold their attention (more on that next month), but the words are vital in setting out your stall and for that reason, their purpose should be maximised.
Producing copy for a website isn’t as easy as it sounds and we often meet organisations who are struggling with it. Common problems are:
too many words
tone not sitting comfortably with wider communications
a lack of thread and purpose
copy not naturally leading through the site in a journey
The net result is a missed opportunity to sparkle…
Our top 10
We’ve pulled together our top tips for writing engaging web content:
1. Be clear on your key messages.
2. Establish a single tone to work throughout the site – this should match your wider communications too.
3. Don’t overcomplicate your language.
4. Think of the main point of each section – how would you tell your mum or best friend? Is there a story you can tell? Whatever the content, and style, use the main point as your headline and get to it quickly.
5. Don’t overuse a particular term or sentence.
6. Keep it pithy.
7. Use headlines, sub headlines and bullet points to break up big chunks.
8. Ensure copy leads naturally into the wider site. The user should feel like they are on a journey through your website, with one section fitting in with the next.
9. Your copy and design should complement each other.
10. Use testimonials to emphasise relevant points and to change to the pace of the copy.
Keep it fresh
Once you’ve got your content sorted, it’s really important to review it regularly. Information shouldn’t get out of date, should carry the key messages for your business and will need a general freshen up now and again to keep it feeling alive.
If you need help building a website with sparkle, get in contact with us. We are a friendly, down to earth team of web experts. www.olamalu.com