Creating copy for your website is a real challenge – which is why it’s often outsourced. Assuming you already found a copywriter for this task, the only thing left for you to do is approving the website texts they delivered … but how do you know if they are any good? Or is there maybe something you can do to ensure they turn out great?
The problem with web copy is that these texts have very specific requirements. That doesn’t just make writing website texts hard for laypeople, but also for professionals. The biggest challenge might be that it has to do lots of things – many more than regular texts, actually.
Because while a short story or a flyer usually has one goal, your web copy needs to accomplish at least four things:
- Web copy has to convince search enginges to ensure your website is even found on Google (think SEO).
- It has to draw users in immediately so they don’t close your website right away.
- It has to be crystal clear, well-structured and easy to understand.
- It has to be entertaining as otherwise people won’t bother to even read your copy.
And on top of all that, your website texts have to be SHORT. Really, really short. As in: when you think you can’t shorten it anymore, cut another 5-10 words per paragraph. Because there’s no sugar-coating it: On the internet, people have the attention span of a goldfish. 🙈
As you can see, website copy comes with its own set of challenges. But even when outsourcing the content creation to a professional copywriter, you have to know if the work delivered is up to standard. To make that easier for you, I have summarised a few things that can help you to build a good project for your copywriter and evaluate the copy they deliver.
The preparations: brief and website structure
Before you kick off the web copy creation project with your copywriter, you have to do one thing that’s essential for good website content: You have to get clarity. About everything. And then you have to condense that clarity into a comprehensive brief.
Because without a good brief, even the best copywriter will struggle to create good copy. Trust me, I’ve been there. 😉
So, let’s start at the beginning: What you need to know is a) what you want to say, b) who you want to say it to, and c) how you want to be perceived when you say it. In other words: You have to know what content to put on your website (what you say), who your target audience is (who you tell) and what the personality of your business is (how you say it).
Maybe you already know all of that, maybe you don’t. If you’re part of the second group, I recommend answering a few basic questions:
- Who – your target audience
- Who is your target audience? Who are you talking to on your website? Who would you like to reach?
- What – your website content
- What do you want to achieve? What would you like users to know or do after they visited your website?
- What do your customers want to know from you? What are they looking for on your website? Which infos do you have to provide?
- How – your brand personality
- How would you like to be perceived? What emotions should your customers associate with your brand?
Once you answered all these questions, you should have a fairly clear picture of the goals for your website – and that’s also exactly what your copywriter needs to know. So essentially, you just worked out the first part of your brief. Congrats! 🥳
Ideally, you’ll now add further info about the structure of your website to let your copywriter know what goes where. If you’re working with a web design agency that takes care of the design and programming of your website, they’ll most likely create a wireframe.
Wireframes are super cool, because they allow you to create a clear structure for your website without having to bother with design (which would just be a distraction in this early stage). Wireframes can be more or less detailed, but they show the journey users take through your website and can even define which info goes where for the ideal UX.
You might have guessed it: That kinda info is worth its weight in gold for your copywriter, because now they know exactly what you want and don’t have to take wild guesses. 😉
This info completes your brief and your copywriter is now well-equipped to start working on the copy for your website – and you have a little time to relax.*
*Note: Usually, a few questions will still come up. Do yourself and your copywriter a favour and answer them quickly and detailed.
Evaluating your new website copy
Once the copywriter delivers the web copy you outsourced to them, it’s time to put it through its paces. But I’d like you to remember one thing when you do that: The online copy is for your customers, not for you!
And that means that it’s totally okay if you personally don’t like something 100%. The important thing is that your customers like it – so put on your customer’s hat, when looking at the copy.
I usually recommend to pay special attention to the following aspects during the evaluation of your website copy:
1. Does the web copy have the right terminology and word choice?
Again, I’d like you to think of your customers: How do they talk to you? Which words do they use? What questions do they ask?
When you as a doctor talk about nocturnal enuresis on your website, but people only ever look for bedwetting, you may be talking about the same thing, but you won’t find each other when you do. That’s why it’s so important to simplify the terminology and make sure to use the words people use in their everyday language when they talk about your topic.
2. Is the website copy easy to understand and entertaining?
I already mentioned that people usually aren’t that focused on the internet, so it’s more important than ever that your web copy is easy to digest and entertaining.
That means they should be short and sweet and maybe funny from time to time. Also, it’s highly recommended to increase skimmability by bolding important phrases.
Make sure the copy uses varied phrasings and wordings that are easy to understand and entice users to read on.
3. Are all page titles and headers unique, descriptive and easy to understand?
To avoid losing confused website visitors, make sure all your headers and page title make sense even to people who only skim your website. Most web copy isn’t really read these days, but only quickly scanned for whatever the person is looking for. Clear headers make the user’s life easier.
Because while things might be crystal clear and unambigious for you, you have to remember that users of your website are very likely to know far less about your topic than you. Clear, short and easily digestible page titles and headers help your users, which sheds a good light on you.
4. Are the paragraphs on your website short and sweet?
It happens quite often that we think the website copy is really short already – after all, four lines aren’t that much text, are they? 😉 Unfortunately, web design has a tendency to turn four lines into eight or ten lines on your website, which makes for a nice little monster text on the internet.
If you already have the design of your website, it helps to paste the web copy in so that you can check out the texts in context. That makes it easy to find out which paragraphs have to be shortened and by how much.
5. Does the copy contain ALL relevant info?
As a user, I often find that a page might contain the info I need, but it’s hidden so well, that I really struggle to find it. So, to improve UX on your website, things often have to be simplified. A lot.
And then there’s my personal pet peeve: headers hinting at the info I’m looking for, but then not giving it. It’s the worst when this happens in an FAQ that asks exactly my question, but then doesn’t answer it – if you’re thinking about doing that, please just don’t. The better way in that case is always to just leave it out completely if you don’t want to answer a certain question. 🙃
The deciding factor that makes or breaks great web copy? Collaboration!
As you can see, there are many things you can do to ensure outsourcing your web copy is a success.
The most important thing is, of course, to find the right person for the job. That can be tricky, and I’ll add a blog article about that topic soon. In the meantime, I’ll just say this: If your copywriter really annoys you with all their questions, you’re on the right path! 😉
Because your copywriter can only write authentic web copy for you, if they have a feeling for you, your company, and its brand voice. Unfortunately for you, that means that you might have to carve out a little time for a meeting, answer questions every now and then and give them a little feedback on a first tentative draft so they can ensure they nail your tone of voice.
That’s why I recommend you consider outsourcing your web copy a collaboration: Your copywriter brings the know-how surrounding text creation and web copy and you add your knowledge of your company and your target audience – and combined you have everything you need to create amazing copy for your website. 🤩
