Writing can be hard work. It might seem easy at first, but soon it becomes insurmountable task that includes a ton of tiny decisions.
In this guide you'll learn some tips to make it a LOT easier to gather your content ideas in an organized way that we can help set up on your website.
It also includes the Website Content Template, whic as h you can copy and use for your Website project.
Alrighty, let’s get started with tip #1.
OK maybe not me personally, but write for your audience. It sounds obvious and you may think you’re already doing this but I want you to take a step back and really think about whether you’re truly writing for your audience, or for yourself.
We like to imagine our users sitting at their computers, with a hot cup of tea, reading our websites word for word. No distractions, nothing but whale music in the background with their focus completely on us.
Let’s think about the realities of someone reading your website.
They’re either at work, at home or somewhere in between. There will be things going on around them and they’ll most likely be multitasking, whether that’s watching TV, looking out for their bus—or their boss.
They don’t have the time to figure out whether the website they’re on is for them or not. And if they’re unsure, they’ll hit the close button and you may never see them again.
So make sure when you’re writing the content for your website, you’re making it ridiculously clear who it’s for and why they should care.
The goal of your website isn’t to toot your own horn. It’s to solve some kind of problem or need for someone else. So write as if you’re talking to them, not pitching yourself at a networking event.
<aside> ✨ Your answers in the Website Strategy Workbook will help you stay focused on who you're writing for. Keep that person in mind and it will be easier to know what to say next.
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Web users don’t read websites, they scan them. So when you write your content try to keep paragraphs very short (between 2-3 sentences) and make good use of visual markers like subheadings and bullet points to break the content up a bit.
Ideally, you should be able to skim down the page quickly and get the gist of what you’re trying to say. Then people can decide whether they want to go back and read in more detail.
Essentially what you’re trying to do is move away from having a block of text on your website and turn it into something more engaging.
After completing a first draft of a page (let's say your about page), you can look for opportunities to add headings, images, quotes, and lists. These are all tools to make your content more scannable and easily understood.
The most useful trick you can use to make sure you’re writing for your audience is making sure there are more ‘You’s’ in your text than ‘I’s’ or ‘We’s’