Website Copywriting Best Practices and Examples

Communication is the foundation of almost anything in life and in business, but especially in online marketing and website copywriting. Your site’s objective is to captivate visitors and encourage them to take action (like buying or subscribing). Don’t overthink your website’s copy. When you write copy for your website, it needs to be simple and easy to read. It needs to capture the reader’s attention and be clear, concise, and focused on the message you want to convey. Keep reading to learn more about best practices for website copywriting as well as examples of great website copy. If you have any questions about your website’s design or copy or want us to handle anything for you, reach out to us at Prebuilt Sites or The BBS Agency. We’d love to help you out!

 

Communication is the foundation of almost everything!

It’s how we exchange thoughts and information with one another and how we form relationships and do business.

It’s also the same as having a website.

When you write copy for your website, it needs to be clear, concise, and focused on the message you want to convey.

Your site’s objective is to captivate visitors and encourage them to take action (like buying or subscribing).

You can use different strategies to achieve this goal, but all of them will rely on good communication between you and your readers.

Good copywriting can make a product or service more appealing and easier to understand.

This is why it’s essential for companies and individuals alike to invest in the best copywriters they can find to improve their websites.

What makes good copywriting? In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the key copywriting best practices for writing effective web content and examples of good copywriting from around the web.

Presentation Is Everything

You’ve got your own website. Now what? How do you persuade users to click and read it?

First of all, determine what kind of copywriting style works best for your brand.

You can’t merely write whatever you want and hope people like it; you have to figure out how to connect with them in the best way possible.

This is where voice, tone, messaging, and the audience come into play.

Voice refers to how you talk about yourself or your product. It’s how you want people to feel when they’re reading about you.

The tone is the attitude that comes through in every word. Is it friendly? Informal? Serious? Your tone should reflect how you want customers to perceive your business.

Messaging is how you convey information about yourself or your product. The words on the page are just one part of the story! The other part involves the attitude behind those words.

Finally, the audience refers to who is reading this content. Who are they? Why should they be interested in what I’m saying? What do they want from me?

Guidelines, Guidelines, & More Guidelines

Source: Huemor

What’s the best way to ensure that your copy is on point?

Create branding guidelines and copy guidelines. These documents will help keep your brand consistent across all mediums, including social media posts and website copy.

Here are some tips for creating copy guidelines for your site:

• Be specific: Don’t just say, “make it fun and friendly.” Define what that means.
• Make them easy to understand and use: If someone else has questions about the brand or wants to make changes, they can do it quickly.
• Include examples: You need examples of how the brand should look and feel on all channels (print, social media, web).
• Make it accurate: Anytime a new piece of content is created (like a blog post or an email), check it against your brand guidelines to ensure it follows them properly.
• Be consistent: Don’t forget about consistency, especially when it comes to tone.

Lose the “We”, “Our Company”, and “Company Name”

When you’re writing for a website, it can be easy to forget that the user is the hero of the story.

The user needs to be the person who succeeds — with your help.

If you don’t write copy that makes that clear, it’s easy to fall into an “us vs. them” mentality, where your company is trying to sell something to a customer who doesn’t know what they need or is interested in buying from you.

The key here is to remember that your job as a copywriter isn’t just about selling your products and services; it’s about helping people solve problems.

If someone visits your website looking for information about a certain topic, make sure you’re talking directly to them about their problem and not just listing off the features of your product or service without addressing why those features matter for them specifically.

Your customers are looking for a particular experience when they come to your site.

They can tell whether or not you’ve created it based on how well the words on your site speak to them.

In order for those words to resonate, you need to make an effort to talk with the potential customer.

The focus should be on features and real benefits.

Features are what make up a product or service — the things that are technically true about it.

Benefits are why people want those features — what they expect from them.

Real benefits are what actually happens when someone uses those features in their lives (or business).

Be Relatable to Your Target Audience

Knowing your target audience is one way of applying your copywriting best practices.

Writing copy for a website isn’t just about ensuring you have all the correct information; it’s about being transparent, hitting your user where it matters, and making a connection.

It starts with figuring out what they want and why they want it. You must ensure that you’re addressing the pain points of the people who will be viewing your site and filling out your forms.

Still, it would be beneficial if you did it in a way that would make them feel safe — like they could trust you with their information.

We’ve all been frustrated when trying to learn new stuff, and there are too many obstacles to jump through or insufficient information on where to start.

It’s frustrating!

You want to use this frustration as an opportunity for humor. This will help keep users engaged as they read through your content.

You can’t create a compelling copy that’s effective if you’re trying to reach everyone. If you want your website to convert, you must tailor your message to the people who buy your products and services.

DeAnna Klein, Copywriter

Originally published on Huemor.