How to Write Website Content
You are ready to start writing the content for your new small business website but may be wondering where to begin. Here are some tips to help you get started and produce content that will make your website stand out to customers.
Brainstorm Content Ideas
Write down all of the topics you plan to include. Every website is different, but many small business websites contain the following pages: Home, About, Services or Products, Contact, Resources.
Start to Write Content
Next, start to fill in the details. Don’t worry if you don’t have cohesive paragraphs at this point, just focus on the main ideas. Here are some ideas for what to include on the most common website pages.
- Home: Short summaries of key content that will attract interest and encourage visitors to take action such as buy, register, contact you, and visit other pages. It is sometimes easier to write this content last.
- About: The About page could feature your company history, mission, vision, and values. Also include any awards or charitable activities. Add a short biography of each employee that highlights his/her professional background and experience. Don’t forget to include employee photos.
- Services or Products: This page will describe your services or products with an emphasis on why customers should choose you. If you sell products, include photos and prices.
- Contact: The Contact page typically contains the following: address, phone number, fax number, emails, and office hours. If your business has walk-in customers, include a Google map of your location.
- Resources: This page contains links to industry-related resources. Example: if you are a travel agent, include links to the passport office, travel warnings, and favorite sites for travel gear. If you do link exchanges with other websites, you can put the links on this page.
Search Engine Optimization
Consider search engine optimization (SEO). If it is important for you to appear on search engine result pages, conduct your keyword research and include keyword phrases in your content. For more about SEO, see What is SEO.
Include Calls-to-Action
Make it easy for people to take action, e.g., make a purchase, request a quote, or sign up for a trial. Write short, concise action statements. Ensure your website designer makes your calls-to-action stand out visually on the page.
Fine-Tune Content
Fine-tune the content: organize it into paragraphs and edit.
- Your content should be: descriptive, concise, informative, interesting, and useful.
- Look out for potential pitfalls: avoid being too wordy, avoid putting too much content on one page, write out acronyms that visitors may not understand.
Consider User Experience
Make it easy for people to find the content they seek. Use short, concise section titles and sub titles; don’t have giant blocks of content like a book. Also link to related pages on your website.
Proofread Content
Proofread, Proofread, Proofread. Check for spelling and grammar errors.
Get Feedback
Solicit feedback from as many people as possible. Ask family, friends, colleagues, and customers to read the content and provide feedback. Here are some questions you can ask: Are there any things that don’t make sense? Is anything missing? Are there any spelling or grammar errors?
Ok - are you ready to start writing your small business website content?
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