Regardless of how long you’ve been writing website content it’s always good to remind ourselves of what the basic rules are. Whether you’re building a new website or just looking to give your content a refresh, bear in mind these points…
1. Forget the Queens English!
When people skim through a web page it’s much easier for them if you say ‘haven’t or ‘you’re’ instead of ‘have not’ and ‘you are’. Throw away the plum in the mouth and shorten those words.
2. Remove the waffle
It can be tempting to add in more words than are really required. What I do is write a first edition and then I’ll go back through and delete any words that are just space fillers.
3. Avoid long anything
Whether that’s words, sentences or paragraphs anything long will be a chore for people to read. Ask yourself if you really need that comma and turn it into a new sentence. A paragraph of more than ¾ lines is too long and needs breaking up.
4. Use bullets & numbers
It’s a great way to highlight key information and makes you think more powerpoint than essay. In addition it helps to break up any lengthy copy and gets you to focus on your key messages.
5. Talk their language
Your site may be targeting senior business decision makers or you may be selling mobile accessories to teenagers. You know how your audience talk to each other so make sure your copy is written in that fashion. It’s easier for them to relate to and makes your site more approachable and less marketing promotion.
6. Highlight your keywords
Highlighting any keywords that are relevant to the visitor will not only make it easy for them to find the info they want, but it will also help your SEO (SEO robots read your page like a person so like keywords to be easy to find).
7. Use headings
Another way to break up content and help people find what they need, headings work like highlighters and keep people engaged. Another one for SEO, keywords in headings are a big thumbs up.
Following these basic rules will help your website visitors to understand what you want to say without getting bored and switching off. Of course you need to make sure your content is relevant to them in the first place!
