Content Warning: I’m a huge dork when it comes to building websites. I’ve made a lot of them, and when people ask me for help starting new ones, I like feeling smart and helpful. It can be insufferable.
Here’s an example of an annoying thing I might say, “…Umm, ACTUALLY, before we talk about design, we should really be focusing on the copy…”
The delivery may be cringey, but the advice is solid. Website copy is the building block of websites. How can you know things like how many pages you need and how much webpage you need before you’ve written the thing out? It’s counting your chickens before they hatch.
Here’s my guiding principle when it comes to developing websites: let the copy inform the design.
If copywriting for a website feels daunting to you, or you’re just not sure how to get started, then you’ve come to the right place.
The link below is a *.docx for a free website template.
If you don’t want to download it because you don’t trust me for whatever reason (I get it – it’s the internet), then you can copy and paste the following content into your own document.
Good luck!
Note: The italicized content is intended to serve as a guide. Replace it with your own content.
Page 1
Page Name: The name of the page you are creating. Ex. “Home,” “About,” “Contact,” etc.
Page Title: Should be 60 characters or less and descriptive of the page. This will appear in the browser tab and possibly in Search Engine Results Pages. Ex. “Website Services – Sean Clark Digital Consulting”
Page Description: Should be 145 characters or less and descriptive of the page. This might appear in Search Engine Results Pages. Ex. “Sean Clark is super smart, helpful, cool, and humble. Contact him today… or else.”
Notes: This is a good place to leave design notes such as specific details about imagery that could be helpful or relevant to the page, whether the page should be included in the main navigation, or other details such as the placement of a “button” or “Call-to-Action.”
*****
[H1] The Main Header of the Page. Every page needs one. Try to include the most relevant keyword phrase.
Body Content: as a rule of thumb, you should try to write at least 150 – 400 words per page. Exceptions can be made, of course.
[H2] Any subsequent subheadings should be an [H2] or greater (ex. H3, H4, etc.). Subheadings are useful for breaking up copy and catching the reader’s eye. Only your top header should be an [H1]. Feel free to include as many subheadings as you think will be helpful.
Body Content:
[insert page break here]
Page 2
Page Name:
Page Title:
Page Description:
Notes:
*****
[H1]
Body Content:
[H2]
Body Content:
Copy as many times as necessary.
IMPORTANT: If you’re using a program like Microsoft Word to write your copy, remember to remove the formatting when you paste it into your content management system (i.e. WordPress, Wix, etc.). There are a few ways to do this, but a quick way is with either of the following console commands:
*For Mac: Cmd + Shift + V
*For Windows: Ctrl + Shift + V
Got any questions? Need more help? Contact me!
