Top 10 tips for writing good website copy

There’s a bit of an art to writing web text. While I would always recommend employing a professional copywriter to write your web text, my top ten tips, below, provide an excellent introduction to writing for the web.

1. Know who your customers/potential customers are and tell them what they truly want to know about your business. Resist the urge to tell them what you think they should know!
2. Talk directly to your customer by using the word ‘you’.
3. Write in the present tense wherever possible, e.g. ‘We provide you with’, rather than, ‘We will provide you with’ (future tense). The future can often seem irrelevant or a long way off.
4. Use keyword-rich headings to help improve your search engine rankings; use sub-headings to guide your reader through the text.
5. Cut the waffle! Use short sentences, short paragraphs and words that are easy to read and understand. Write naturally and keep it punchy.
6. Sell benefits. For example, a feature of a breakfast cereal may be that it has added vitamins, but the benefit of this is that it’s good for your health. People want to know what your product or service can do for them.
7. Answer questions before they’re asked!
8. Tell your customer what you want him/her to do, e.g. ‘Phone for more information’.
9. Check your punctuation. If you’re unsure, use a punctuation book to help you. Most common punctuation errors? Commas where there should be full stops and apostrophes in the wrong place.
10. Writing should have rhythm. Read it through afterwards and if you stumble over anything then re-write it.

This article was written by Michelle Audouard, professional freelance copywriter, based in Leighton Buzzard. For more details about Michelle copywriting services you can visit her website at thewritingshop.co.uk