It’s tempting. You’ve got a new website to launch or refresh, and writing your own web copy seems like the easiest way to save some budget. After all, you know your business better than anyone, right? And surely a quick Google search will tell you all you need to know about SEO.
But writing effective web copy isn’t just about putting words on a page. It’s about creating a brand experience that grabs attention, engages your audience, and guides them through a impactful user journey. There are layers of complexity involved, and without the right expertise, you could end up with content that not only misses the mark but also drags your website down in search engine rankings.
Here’s a closer look at the key challenges involved in writing great web copy, and why it’s worth bringing in experts.
Web visitors are famously impatient. Research shows that you have only a few seconds to capture someone’s attention before they click away. So how do you craft copy that immediately engages users and keeps them reading?
It’s all about writing arresting, concise, and compelling website content. Great copy gets to the point quickly and hooks the reader, often with a strong headline, a relatable problem statement, or an enticing offer. To do this well, you need a deep understanding of what motivates your audience, what they’re looking for, and how they consume content online.
Not only that, your copy has to be structured to guide the reader. That means balancing short, snappy sentences with enough detail to convey authority and value. A headline may catch their eye, but it’s the body copy that will keep them engaged.
You’ve written great copy that captures attention, but can people find it? Writing SEO-friendly web copy involves a lot more than just stuffing keywords into the content. You need to know how search engines work while still crafting a message that resonates with your audience.
The balance is tricky. You need to integrate keywords naturally into the copy, write for both humans and search engines, and ensure that your content is properly structured with meta descriptions, headings, and alt text for images. SEO is about long-term strategy and getting it right requires both technical know-how and creative flair.
Web copy doesn’t exist in isolation. It needs to complement your website’s design, enhancing the user experience while ensuring your message is delivered effectively.
Contrary to popular belief, slotting words into a pre-designed template isn’t good enough. The copy needs to work within the layout, providing a flawless experience that feels easy and intuitive. This means collaborating closely with your design team to ensure that every element, from typography and colour to spacing and image placement, enhances your message. The copy and the design should feel like one cohesive whole, not two separate parts.
As your website grows, so does the amount of content you need to produce. Writing at scale means maintaining a consistent brand voice across hundreds or even thousands of pages. But it’s hard enough to maintain that voice across a few pages, let alone on a site with a lot of moving parts.
To keep everything in sync, you need clear guidelines, ongoing audits, and a strong understanding of your brand. From homepage copy to product descriptions, each piece of content should feel like it’s coming from the same voice, making sure it connects with different audience segments in a natural and engaging way. This takes planning, discipline, and regular collaboration with your team.
Most websites are built on content management systems (CMS) like WordPress or HubSpot and these tools come with a ton of benefits, but also have their own set of challenges. Writing copy for a page that’s built on one of these platforms means ensuring it fits within the structure of the CMS and doesn’t break when the page is live.
This requires understanding the layout of your page and how the content is going to be displayed on different devices. It also means ensuring that the copy is flexible enough to work with dynamic elements like carousels, grids, and interactive modules. Your content needs to integrate smoothly with the CMS to create a cohesive, functional experience for users.
Great web copy is a combination of creativity, strategy, technical know-how, and collaboration. From SEO to design to brand voice, writing effective web copy involves many moving parts, and each part needs to work together.
If you’re trying to do it all yourself, you risk overlooking key elements or losing consistency across your site. That’s where experts come in. Professional copywriters bring the skills and experience to create content that not only reads well but also drives action and helps you achieve your business goals.
Don’t struggle with web copy on your own. Get in touch and let us help you create content that works as hard as you do.