Yeah, yeah – pretty much everyone has a website by now. And if you don’t, get on it! A website is pretty much square one for your business. Though, of course, you could always go the route of a Facebook microsite – but it’s not nearly as customizable or accessible. But I digress.
Websites: There are plenty of things you need – and plenty of ways to get them. Hosting, a design, social media plugins, and – oh, yes – words. It sounds funny to say it that way, but it’s true – unless you’re a photographer or someone in graphic arts, “letting your work speak for you,” you need to have something to say (and really, photographers and graphic artists – everyone appreciates an explanation). But – as is so often the case with writing – having something to say and being able to put it into written words are two different things.
That’s where we come in.
Writing websites is just one of many types of writing that we do – but it’s one that we do particularly well and one that we do a lot of. And through our years of website writing work, we’ve perfected our process and developed a punch list of best practices to turn out better content and better results. So, without further ado, here are some of our insider tricks of the trade.
End at the Start
When we’re writing websites, it’s for another organization 999 times out of 1,000 – and, most often, we don’t know what that organization does, what it offers, etc. (no offense). The homepage is the most important page on a site – it’s what draws potential clients in and lets them know what you’re all about in very few words and with very little real estate, so it’s all about making every word count.
That said, we’ve found that our best homepage copy comes from writing the homepage last.
Counter intuitive? Perhaps – but think about it. As we write website copy for the other pages, we get a better idea of exactly what you’re about, not to mention that we learn from conversations with you your key points and action items. By doing the homepage last, we can leverage all of those lessons learned to make a stronger first impression. And that is why we always end at the beginning.
Go with the Bungalow
Speaking of making real estate count … you know how in real life you’re always aiming for that bigger space – the next size up, if you will? As it is in clothing, with website writing, we really just want that bungalow.
Have you ever noticed how the people who talk the most have the least to say? Your website is like this.
People don’t want to read novels; they want to get a feel for you, and find what they’re looking for – and quickly. Fewer words means that it’s easier to read – but getting the message across in fewer words is tricky to say the least. Again, that’s where we come in.
We get that you might have lots of details – and that, to you, each one is important. But to your clients, it just isn’t the case – upfront, anyway. Once they get further down the line and closer to making a purchase, they’ll want to dot every “I,” but for now, they just want the intrigue. Reign yourself in, at least initially; you’ll come out ahead for it.
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
To get the heck away from that stupid “chicken or the egg” question.
We know, we know – it’s an age-old battle (well, decades old, anyway) of which comes first: graphics or copy. Being website writers, we have a clear preference: graphics. Every time.
But it isn’t just about preference – there’s a reason we recommend going to design first. Remember that real estate tip about making every word count? If you have your templates and designs before going to copy, then the website writing company knows approximately how much copy it needs to write and can better focus the words on the specific message.
Think about it – if you’re given a blank wall and told to paint, you’re going to go to town, but if you’re given a coloring book page, you’ll stay in the lines (well, mostly anyway – you can’t blame creativity). Your website writing is kind of like that. The design reigns in the writer to focus on content, word count, and all of those other things that turn regular copy into great copy. Not to mention that your design is representative of your brand and image – and your blocks of copy are going to play into that.
Guessing Games Never End Well
Unless you’re the client, you can’t know what he or she wants … and sometimes even the client doesn’t know! So guessing and writing to those guesses is unlikely to end well and quite likely to leave you writing several rounds of revisions.
Instead, get the key information upfront. Things like the desired action, key points to emphasize, a unique selling proposition, target audience, mandatory inclusions – these things convey to the person writing websites what he or she is doing, but can also help clients define what they are trying to say and what they are looking for.
Odds are clients won’t hire you saying, “Hey, by the way – here’s all of our creative info.” It’s your job to collect it.
These are just a few of the best practices we follow in-house when writing websites, but we have plenty more – and we’re sure our fellow writers do, too. Not to mention, companies having a website written probably have a few requests and thoughts of their own. So do us all a solid and share your tips and thoughts below.