Content is King

Content is key in creating a successful website both for attracting visitors and good search engine rankings.

April 14, 2006
Updated October 2, 2023

Copy is often the last thing that is considered when creating a website. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new design and how the site will function. Writing considered content will improve the usability of your site and allow users to find things quickly and easily.

Consider your audience ¶

As with many areas of website production if you consider your audience you will be on the right track. Who will be visiting the site? What will they be doing? What do you want them to do? Try to structure your content around the answers to these questions. Allow users to find key information quickly and easily.

Make it easy to read ¶

Studies have shown that website users scan web pages rather than reading every word. For that reason it is important for the page to be written so that the eye can scan it easily. Using devices like bulleted lists can help users to find what they want quickly. This is a key purpose of copy on websites. If users are unable to find what they are looking for they will leave your site.

Keep it short ¶

One of the most common mistakes of writing copy for the web is that it is simply too long. Users are impatient. They are not interested in reading pages and pages about the history of your organisation. Think what your users are looking for and respond by writing targeted and brief copy.

Use links ¶

Threading links through your copy allows users to quickly jump around the site. Do not saturate your content with links but if you think that there is an item of interest somewhere else on the site include it.

Use graphical elements ¶

As users scan rather than read in a linear fashion you can often communicate more quickly using graphical elements. If the page features a download use a graphic to show it. Users will recognise that the page has a download more quickly than reading dense copy and searching for a link.