Writing copy for your website? We’ve got a blog for that…

On today’s blog we’re discussing the best ways to write copy for your website. We’ve come up with some top tips to keep your audience engaged and ensure they’re taking note of what you have to say (Without telling them they’ll win £1,000,000 if they read to the end of the page…. Might work though?!)

So, how do you write copy for people that don’t want to read copy? That’s essentially what you’re doing when creating written content for web. The aim of the game is to keep those short attention spans entertained and get your reader to engage with you online. But how?

• Check, check and check again for spelling and grammar.
• Would someone who has no idea about the copy topic understand it? If not, simplify what you’re saying.
• Always keep your content fresh. Check regularly that your copy is in date, including up to date contact information, news and events.

• Make sure you keep copy short and to the point. Online users scan read for the information they are looking for. Help them the best way you can.
• Put your most important information at the top of the copy. This way the reader finds the information quicker, won’t get bored and go looking for it elsewhere.
• Keep paragraphs short. Again, your readers want to access the information they need as easily as possible. This leads us on to the next point…
• Bullet points can help people scan read. People love to be helped.
• Use descriptive hyperlinks within your text. For example, telling you to ‘Click Here to read my other blog on copy writing’ may not do the trick. But letting the reader know ‘I have more top tips for writing entertaining copy’ might intrigue the reader more.
• Use ‘You’ rather than ‘I’ where appropriate. Think like a radio presenter. They’re trained to talk as though to one person, it’s a good idea for you to do the same. It makes the reader feel special. Do you feel special?

• Break up copy with imagery or an embedded video.
• Use subheadings to divide content. It allows the reader to find what they are looking for and quickly!
• One topic per paragraph. It again helps with the scan readers out there and keeps your copy to the point.
• Be clear, specific and bold in your writing!

• Use keywords to help with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), but don’t overdo it! Help Google to put your website/page/blog higher in their search results. What would your target audience search for on Google? Ensure those keywords sit in your copy.
• Add tags to webpages and blogs where appropriate, these also help with Google Searches.
• Caption images with full credits, because it’s nice (and good practice AND it helps with SEO).
• Include internal links to help users navigate around your website, plus it keeps them on your site for longer, bonus!

And there we have it. Our top tips on writing copy for your website. Hopefully you’ll find it useful! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, @HdK_assoc, for more blogs on all things digital and the arts.