5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Website's Copy
We all can’t afford professional copywriters to write and edit our website content. So here are 5 simple web copywriting tips to help you improve your website’s copy:
1. Use subheadings to break up your page
People typically read web content by scanning the page quickly, so break up posts of more than a few paragraphs with useful informative subheadings to help them find the information they want quickly and easily.
2. Think upside down triangle (aka the inverted pyramid)
Don’t introduce a web page with pointless filler text that sets the scene — get to the point right away. People will usually visit your site for information, not entertainment. So, if you need to include them at all, leave minor details for the bottom sections of your page
If your first paragraph doesn’t sum up the page and provide at least a nugget of useful info, move things around until it does.
3. Keep sentences short
Keep sentences shorter than 20 words where possible — people (lawyers excluded) like short punchy sentences, especially on the web.
One great way to shorten those sentences is by looking for the word ‘which’ — most of the time you’ll be able to end the sentence before the ‘which’ and replace it with ‘this’ or a similar word that fits. For example:
I’m going to write an article about web copywriting, which will be published on Technorati.
Becomes:
I’m going to write an article about web copywriting. This will be published on Technorati.
(Thanks to Diana Railton from DRCC for this great tip.)
4. Use bullets or numbers for lists
Instead of lists of points in your main paragraphs, use bulleted or numbered lists instead. These are easier to read and scan. But if each point in your list goes to more than one line when published on your web page, consider making each point a new paragraph, separated by a subheading.
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