How to Bridge the Great Website Content Gap

Everyone knows the anxiety that comes with writing an essay. 

The same obstacle that causes many a homework assignment to go unwritten in grade school is also what prevents websites from launching in a timely manner.

One of the toughest challenges clients face during website development is the question of content. What will fill in all that blank space inside the website design? And what content really matters? What content will drive traffic and boost the bottom line?

To help get website content started, here are some different types of content you can include on your new website:

• Get straight to the point with a simple page that explains what your company does. This often works for home page content. The shorter your description, the better.

• Tell us about your company or organization. How did it come to be? Why does it exist? Who does it serve, and why should customers and clients select your company over your competition? Remember to be as specific and unique as possible.

• Staff biography pages are great for companies that deal exclusively with person-to-person interactions. Example: Wanelo Online Store's Staff Bios

• What questions do your customers ask all of the time? Consider creating a page for each question, or creating a page with all of the questions and answers.

• If you sell products, include pages for each of your products. Consider including pages dedicated to your manufacturers as well if your customers place a priority on knowing where your products come from. Example: The Grommet's Meet the Maker pages

• If you are a non-profit, write about who you serve. Consider creating two different types of these pages. One set of pages would communicate exclusively with those you serve. One set of pages would communicate exclusively with supporters and volunteers.

• Write pages with tips for your clients and customers. For example, if a website deals with refrigerators, then tips for cleaning and maintaining refrigerators would bring in some great traffic, and establish that website as an authority in the field.

• If you have resources that are located in Word documents or PDFs, convert this information into actual web pages, rather than linking to these files. This provides a search engine optimization boost, makes content easier to access for end users and provides more options for how to display that content.

Here are some helpful tips to guide the writing process:

• Website content shouldn't look like long tomes of literature. Stay brief and to the point. If your paragraphs stretch longer than 5 sentences, break them up into smaller paragraphs. This shorter, more agile style of writing suits the fast-paced reading/scanning style of most average website visitors.

• Likewise, if you find that one page of content contains thousands of words, consider breaking that page up into multiple pages, with each page addressing a sub-topic of the main idea of the original page.

• Double- and triple-check for spelling errors and grammatical flow before publishing content to your website.

• Aim to keep each page centered on one topic, rather than using one page to explore a variety of topics.

• Create page titles that invite visitors to read your content. This title stinks: “House Building Information”. This title is better: “Learn How to Build a House”. This title is even better: “5 Ways You Can Start Building Houses Today”. Titles that promote action and tell readers that the information contained inside the article is short-and-to-the-point will generate much more traffic than generic, boring titles.

• When writing for clients, make sure to communicate with a vocabulary that actual living, breathing clients would use. For example, if a construction company wanted to appeal to potential home buyers, it would be better to use the phrase “home builder” in its content rather than “facility construction”. The average website visitor will be looking for a “home builder”. Very few will be looking for “facility construction”. Work to get outside your own industry jargon if you are looking to market to customers outside your industry.

• Read, read, read! Everyone can get into a writing rut. One of the best ways to escape the rut is to read content on other websites, both within and outside your field. Borrow writing style or topics and adapt them to fit your website's needs.

• Reading content from outside your field can provide a fresh perspective on how to approach marketing copy. For example, if a company sells bicycles, it might be helpful for them review marketing copy from a theme park to get an idea how to write copy that excites readers.

Do you need more help? A great web development firm like Ethode can help you bridge this gap by asking the right questions or providing content writing services. Need some website assistance? Get in touch - tell us about it. We'd love to help make that blank white screen a little less intimidating!