www.red15.media

If you’re in the process of building or revamping your website, you need content! 

Your website content should speak for your company, knowing that it’s likely the first time your audience “hears” from you.
Many business owners opt to write their content, which can be a challenge if you’ve never written for the internet before. 

This guide should provide some tips for getting started, so your content is professional, clean and serves the purpose of the site.

1. Your Sit​e Map

Before you start writing your content, you need to know what pages you’ll have on your website. While we’ll help you with that, it’s ultimately up to you to decide what pages your site needs to represent your business best. Make this decision before you begin writing. 

We recommend the following pages on most starter websites: 

Home, About, Products/Services, Contact. 

You’ll also want a Blog, but that’s a subject for down the road.

2. Your Audience

You need to identify who your ideal audience is because that determines the tone you’ll take and the voice you’ll use as you’re writing. 

If your perfect client is a corporate-based professional, your website will look and read much different than if it’s a stay-at-home mum or online entrepreneur.

3. Page Length

Everyone has an opinion about how long each page should be. The reality is that it should be as long as it needs to be—no more and no less. As you’re writing, keep in mind that the copy needs to look visually pleasing on a web page. Aim for at least 300 words—enough to fill the body of the page. Any shorter and the page looks empty. Moreover, don’t be afraid to include some long-form text, within reason.

Longer pages need to be broken up with bullet points, subheadings and pull-quotes to help draw the eye of the reader to the most important points.

Your home page is your audience’s introduction to you (though they may not always find your website through your home page).

Here’s what you need to make your home page effective:

• A powerful headline​
• A sub-head that (briefly) describes what you do
• Two to three calls to action, encouraging your audience to dive deeper into your website or connect with you
• A free opt-in offer that collects your audience’s email addresses and gives them more value
• A way to contact you—either your email, phone number or a link to a contact form (or all three)
• Links to all your social media accounts so visitors can follow you for more information
• Some background information about you and/or your business so visitors know what you are all about

Depending on the size of your business, this page can include information about you, your team and
your business. The most important thing to remember is that this page is not the place to give visitors a run-down of your resume. They want to know how you can solve their problem. 

Here’s what you need:

• A professional-quality photo of yourself and your team
• A story about how your business came to be, one that builds a “hey, I’ve been there” connection with prospects 

This is a statement that explains the overall offer. The quote below should help to reinforce this statement.