The core of all this is your content. We ALWAYS start with content first, and create a design around this — and we will likely tweak things a bit once in the layout, but we need to make sure that needs to be communicated, is clear, and present.
This guide is designed to prompt different types of content, in roughly this order, but every business is different so do what feels right for you – and it’s encouraged to step out of your comfort zone too.
Best to know the rules before you break them, however!
Things to consider before you start:
- Have you got a brand tone of voice? Think about if you want to be friendly, formal, and funny for your audience.
- Are you clear on your offering and service?
- Are you balancing out content e.g. larger block of text / shorter call to action
- Don’t be afraid to have lots of action prompts (click, call, message etc)
- If you’re using ChatGPT, make sure you’re prompting UK English, and not solely relying on it — it can be quite generic! Consider prompting ‘non-business’ language too, to avoid the obvious ChatGPT traits.
- Always good to aim for 800-1000 words per page, but;
- Keep things bite-size
- …and finally — it’s better to have ‘too much’ content than not enough. We can always trim it down at the design stage!
How to structure content for your website
Homepage
Arguably the most important page on your website (though not necessarily the first page your visitor lands on if you have well-optimised landing pages for core services and audiences!).
Our aim for the homepage is to form a ‘dashboard’ for the rest of the site, and we need to quickly communicate a few things.
These are what we call ‘above the fold’ e.g. what is visible before scrolling.
Things to consider on your homepage:
Your value proposition
In one short sentence: what problem are you solving for your customers? And what is the emotion you want them to feel?
For example empowered, heard, saved, confident. We can go into specifics afterward.
Create some urgency and note any awards or qualifications.
Your services/expertise
Demonstrate how we can help you
Note your top 2, 3, or 4 services with a clear title, simple description, and CTA.
For example:
Contract reviews
Fixed price contract reviews with a 2 day turnaround.
[Get started]
If you have many, consider what are the:
- Most profitable
- Bread and butter / easier turnaround services
Note 2 or 3 clear benefits to using your services e.g. quick, easy, experienced team etc.
Think about how you are making it easy for your prospects to work with you, and what problems you help them solve.
USP’s
Can you choose 3 or 4 USPs to give short sharp value? E.g.:
Be found by those searching for your services
Increase website traffic and legal case enquiries
Done for you marketing that delivers a clear ROI
Build trust
Consider some extra content here to expand on earlier points. If you’ve said you have experience, go into some detail.
Add trust points – do you have Reviews (Google Reviews, TrustPilot), any accreditations, single line testimonials?
Empower
Add a short statement that really drives home the results / emotion you want to instil, e.g.
Your future clients will be searching for you.
We’ll make sure you’re top of their list.
or:
Our mission is to Protect and Promote your business.
Get our Homepage Content Writing Template
Service Page(s)
Content plays a massive role in your service or product pages. It’s not just about listing your offerings, your content should include detailed descriptions of what the product or service is and what it includes. Highlight the main features and the benefits they bring to the user.
Think USER FIRST. What do your users need to know before they convert from prospect to customer?
Where to start?
- Create a list of your top 2, 3, or 4 services.
- Give them a clear title and simple description, and expand more in another paragraph.
- Dig deeper into the process/ journey of your services or products.
- What is different about your service/ product compared to your competitors?
- Note 2 or 3 clear benefits to using your services. Think about what problems your clients may have that you can resolve, this would be a great benefit and demonstrate the value of your service.
- Do you have any photos or icons you can relate to your service? This is a great way of breaking up the text content and making your page more engaging.
- Always remember your value proposition, you can link back to it at the end.
- Include a CTA before the next section!
Building trust
After explaining what your service is and how it can benefit your client. Consider trust points.
Have you got any examples of similar projects centred around this service? This shows your business’s ability to deliver that value.
Things to consider:
- Your clients will want to picture themselves in the story, and be transparent- is there any data to support your case studies
- Have you got any testimonials from clients?
- Include photos and examples- proof speaks the value
- Relevant Call to Action?
Get our Service Page Content Writing Template
‘About Us’ page
The ‘About Us’ page is a great way to reinforce your value proposition as well as your mission statement. This should be consistent with your brand voice and consistent throughout all of your content.
You can incorporate your company values here too! Bite-sized but precise information is often received better.
Things to consider on your ‘About us’ page:
Brand storytelling
What’s the history behind the company, what milestones have been reached over the years and what is the journey of your brand? This can help visitors to engage emotionally with your brand which not only differentiates your brand from competitors but it also showcases your brand personality which users can connect with.
Being honest and sharing this personal information can establish trust and credibility.
Your values, vision and mission statement
Not every company’s values, vision and mission statement is customer facing, but showing snippets of your brand values helps your readers connect with you.
Keep them bite size – no one will read a big wall of text – and consider if they need shaping for external messaging to your prospects.
Introduction to the team
Introducing your team through your ‘About Us’ page allows visitors to learn about the people behind the business.
This is key to humanising your brand. Photos, videos, and descriptions of the team allow users to build a connection straight away, putting a face to a name and adding a friendly aspect. This can help to build an aspect of trust and credibility.
Think about your tone of voice. It can be more casual in this section as it is coming from real people! But remember your brand.
Think about including:
- Photographs
- Job Role
- Links to individual social media handles e.g. LinkedIn, X
- Something fun? A personal hobby or something unrelated to the business (this helps to show your personality!) – perhaps not the ‘office dog’ though…
SEO benefits
SEO (search engine optimisation) refers to the process of improving your website’s visibility on search engines such as Google or Microsoft Bing.
The About Us page offers content that can be used for keyword optimisation as well as internal linking to other pages on the site.
[Get our About Page Content Writing Template]
SEO: Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
Whilst we’re on the subject of SEO, it’s important to give some thought to your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions. These are the snippets that are shown on Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS) and help anyone finding your site to quickly understand what the page is about, and whether to choose to read it.
This is whole other subject really – but a quick overview here:
Page Titles
Page Titles, also known as ‘title tags’, are HTML elements that specify the title of a web page. They appear in the browser’s title bar or tab and are used by search engines to understand the content of the page.
The title tag is crucial for SEO as it is one of the primary elements that search engines consider when ranking pages.
A well-crafted page title should be concise, descriptive, and include relevant keywords to help improve visibility in search engine results.
You can include location or service specific keywords here.
For example:
Web Design and Development in Northampton | DeType
Meta Descriptions
Meta Descriptions are provide a brief summary of a web page’s content. They appear below the page title in search engine results and are intended to give users an idea of what the page is about.
While meta descriptions do not directly impact search engine rankings, they influence click-through rates by enticing users to visit the page.
Effective meta descriptions are typically around 150-160 characters, include relevant keywords, and provide a compelling reason for users to click on the link.
For example:
Award winning Creative Agency offering web design, web development and branding for growing businesses across the UK
Legal and compliance, accreditations and other information
Everyone appreciates transparency in 2024… especially when it’s also a legal requirement! Providing information such as registration details, certifications, and other policies can be a requirement.
Not having these details can lead to the risk of fines.
Consider adding:
- Certificates
- Accreditations
- Awards
- Achievements
- Nominations
- Badges of association (trade bodies, security etc)
What’s next?
Including a few lines on your future goals or upcoming projects is a great way to show you are active in your marketing and industry. Active engagement shows that your business is stable, and growing and you are committed to wanting to provide the best services or products to your clients.
This ultimately improves your brand image and provides value to your audience.
What’s next could include:
- Upcoming training and development programs for your team and also clients
- Are you working towards any certifications or awards?
- Industry news- This could include backlinks to a blog section
…and don’t forget another call to action to finish!
Do you want to get regular tips on how to get the most out of your website and marketing?
