Content creation – it’s an industry in itself. Yet so often it is an underestimated task in a new website project.
It isn’t surprising because it is a challenging task with lots to consider. It requires research, planning, first drafts, reviewing, revisions, editing, refining, and optimising. It needs to be informed by research and strategic thinking. It needs to inform the design of your site / app / software. There are user experience (UX) implications, and user interface (UI) implications and search engine optimisation (SEO) dependencies.
So, if you are planning a web project, we’ve pulled together a few questions and suggestions for what to think about.
You are the expert in what you do so it makes sense for you to write the content. This seems like a perfectly reasonable statement. So, do you know how to write about your expertise to appeal to your audience, in a language that is familiar to them and avoiding lots of industry jargon? Can you talk about what you do in a way that is accessible and helpful and that answers the problem they are looking to solve?
If you are comfortable with being able to write to match your audience’s questions in a way they will understand, do you have time away from the day job to produce the content that’s needed and can you prioritise it and deliver it on time to keep the project moving forward?
In so many projects, working with clients big and small, content can be the sticking point or roadblock that causes delays and missed deadlines. We often hear – “Oh, no we’ll do the content ourselves.” Then time passes, the project stalls and the momentum is lost.
If that’s a possibility for your project, talk to us about what level of copywriting support you need to keep everything on track. We have different approaches from full copywriting to just reviewing and editing or simply giving you some helpful feedback.
If you are a confident writer and you have the time to produce copy, that is great news for your project. We will work with you to ensure you know what key words and phrases you need to incorporate into your writing to be search engine and audience friendly.
Either way we recommend that the writing is given high priority from the outset. The sooner this piece is complete, the quicker the rest of the project can come together.
Does your content need to include long form text with multiple paragraphs, or is it more likely to include brief intros and snappy lists? Do you need to convince people to sign up, buy, follow, enquire, or simply understand a process?
This might differ significantly from one area of the site to another. For example, on your home page you will need short introductions to point people in the right direction. On product or service pages, you’ll need to explain what you do concisely and perhaps include a section on your process, approach or the benefits of working with you. If you want to demonstrate your breadth of knowledge and expertise, then longer blog articles or case studies might be the way to go allowing you to explore a topic in greater depth.
Whether it’s short and sweet or a longer read, you need to think carefully about the use of headings. Headings help to structure your content so your reader can skim through and verify that they are reading something useful. Well placed and phrased headings also play a part in optimising your copy so it is more easily found in search engines.
Other important types of content might include:
Do you usually communicate in a formal or a conversational style? Is your subject or sector full of acronyms and jargon? Does your audience know the meaning of this jargon and are they searching for answers and solutions using the same terminology that you use to describe what you do?
The answers to these questions will depend on what you do and what your website needs to do for you. If your site aimed at other sector specialists then use all the jargon you like, but if you have a technical specialism that aims to help consumers, then tone down the specialist language and make sure you are talking too them in language they will understand.
Before you get started on your copy you will need to think about the words and phrases your customers use to talk about either the products and services you offer or the problem that those products and services can solve.
Next you need someone to do keyword research based on those keywords to make sure you know what phrases and words to incorporate in your content. There may be a commonly used phrase that you will really struggle to rank for but there might be another phrase that is less popular but has far fewer competitors and you stand a good chance of gaining some traction for that phrase.
[Add some more content here supported by and linked to the SEO page] .e.g do we need anything about length of content, meta descriptions etc.
Should you write your copy to fit into your design? Or should your design follow the needs of your copy?
We know that you will want to see a design for your site to help feel connected to and engaged with the project but how far should that design be developed without having sight of the content that needs to go on each page. If the content planning has been done well and the content itself is well developed before specific page designs are created then the project is far more likely to flow well and keep to time.
When designs are worked up with placeholder content or the designer has to guess what type of content will be on the page working from assumptions, the creativity and time put into the design may be wasted with impacts on schedule and budget.
If your words need icons, images or infographics to bring them to life then the words will inform what those design elements need to be. The graphics are there to support the content, not the other way around.
Of course, there are design elements that can be evolved in parallel with the copywriting but it is our recommendation that the design only goes so far before the content starts to inform the direction and elements required.
If your budget is really tight, then working to a pre-designed template may be the best option. The person producing the copy will then write to fit the existing design that you like. Any content that does not “fit” will need to be reconsidered or the design will need to be amended to accommodate the copy.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas on what to think about when you are planning and writing your content. You may also find our quick tips on “What makes good copywriting” helpful and if you’d like a little more help then get in touch and let’s start a conversation.
